A Chase of Wonder
by Maven Alazais
Summary: Fed up with waiting while their proximity rises, Wonder Woman decides to pursue Batman for one last time. She can't be wrong about how he feels, right? Or can she? A little overdose of Bat-stubborness can go a long way, she will discover. But what she doesn't know is that it might just be a very well-put together act. Wonder Woman x Batman, WonderBat. Based on the JL-JLU cartoons.
1. Chapter 1

***A/N: So, lovely WonderBat shippers, this is Maven Alazais on her first ever WonderBat fic! It has been one of my oldest-perhaps even my first- OTPs and truth is I'm somewhat afraid to write about them BUT I really needed to write something, so...here I am. Before we begin, let me state that for the single sake of the story, we shall imagine that Talia and Damian never existed (don't get me wrong, I like the kid and all but...you get it). I will use the setting and events of the Justice League and the Justice League Unlimited shows. I will also try to update quickly, but I'm in the middle of my Uni exams, so bear with me. **

**Please, please, please, leave a review to tell me how you found it. Thanks!***

**CHAPTER ONE**

Shift nights on the watchtower had never actually been Diana's favorite but she had gotten used to them by now, after all these years. In truth, nowadays, her only task during shifts was to coordinate the younger superheroes and superheroines into doing their duties and monitoring the station. She was open to anyone seeking guidance, but almost everyone had managed to find their way by now, without needing much help from the older members of the League.

Hovering gently over the corridor, she reached the main monitoring room, where J'onn stood, as per usual, in front of his screen, sharing tasks and mission updates with the Leaguers. She took a seat in the upper section of the room, watching the black sky outside of the enormous 'windows'. Her gaze turned to the room again, where some newer recruits of the League had come to access, she guessed, some of the League's files, gathering information on the ever-growing number of villains they had to face. She saw Batgirl, tapping furiously on the holographic touch screen. Barbara was a very nice young woman who had become a very useful member of the League, despite her mentor's original doubts of her joining.

Hm. Her mentor. Diana's mind always seemed to have a way to come across him somewhere along the string of her thoughts. But, things we shouldn't think about, are the things we end up thinking about the most. And so, she found herself pondering about the 'mysterious' Batman more than she liked to admit anymore. And so she delved into the 'Batman' subject once again. It's not like she had anything better to do at the moment.

He was one of the first men she ever met, and, honestly, he wasn't the one to make the biggest impression to her when she first left Themiscyra. But he…grew on her. Somewhere between the missions, the shift nights, saving the Earth and sharing lunch, Bruce Wayne became one of the people she was the most attached to. No, not just attached to. Attracted to, as well. There was no point in hiding behind her finger. Yes, he was an extreme introvert. Yes, he was…antisocial at times, and he could become very mean, but no matter how many times she had seen his 'bad side', nothing would ever falter her attraction to him. And, oh, there was chemistry between them. Something more than merely being…battle compatible when fighting, and it was obvious. How could she forget that time when she went to join her companions for lunch and heard John Stewart ask him what was going on between him and herself? Bruce had tried to shrug it off by praising her as a friend and a warrior but he couldn't convince Green Lantern, and Diana betted he couldn't even convince himself.

Or that time where she 'had to' kiss him when Shayera's nation attacked. He had a blissful face when they stopped and he downright enjoyed it. She could tell it wasn't just her insides that had gone fuzzy then. He was flushed as well. And that meant something.

And did he really think she didn't know what had happened back when she was turned into a pig? Bruce Wayne as the almighty Batman had sung in front of a big crowd, just to get her turned back to her normal self. Of course, what could he have done? She was one of the most prestigious Leaguers and his companion, he couldn't let her be a swine, but… Zatanna had told her it was more than that. Made Diana promise not to tell Batman that she had told her that, of course, but it didn't make any difference to her. It wasn't like she was going to discuss it with him. One time she tried to get the subject to that, he had told her that he was a rich kid with issues, she was a warrior princess, dating within the team would lead to disaster and that his enemies would try to harm him through her.

All Diana heard, though, was petty excuses. What if they came from different surroundings? If Shayera and John could make up after what had happened with them, they could make it work too. What if he had issues? It wasn't like she was flawless, or that she couldn't cope with him. After all these years knowing each other and getting closer and closer, she knew that she could handle his 'issues'. In the end, they were what made him…himself. And Hera knew she adored him, in all his gloomy glory. What if it was dating inside the team? They were both mature enough to be able to tell between work and personal business. Especially when their work was something as important as saving mankind. Again, John and Shayera could make it. Dick and Barbara had dated and even though they weren't together now, they still cooperated very well when paired with each other. And, finally, what if he had enemies? Did he really think she couldn't handle them? Damn, she was one of the most powerful people in there. The enemy thing could go both ways, but she didn't fear for him, as he shouldn't fear for her either.

Thinking about all that had gotten her worked up again. When she burst the bubble of her thoughts, she realized her hands were curled up in firsts and she had a big frown on her face. Taking a deep breath, she relaxed and closed her eyes for a second. She knew she shouldn't let herself consume so much thought and energy on the matter but sometimes, trying not to think about it was more tiring than actually doing it.

She pressed a small button on the side of her chair, and the green holographic screen emerged in front of her. She accessed the Map option, tracking the Leaguers' positions. It was supposed to operate only when the heroes were on duty, but some left their trackers switched on even when they weren't, just in case they needed to be found, should anything happen. As she expected, Batman's signal was pointing towards Gotham City. It was after all, somewhere between 2 and 3a.m. His favorite time to go crime fighting. She was somewhat surprised to find Nightwing's signal there, with him. It had been a long time since the duo went Gotham-patrolling together, but a little 'family bonding' wasn't bad, she supposed. For they were a family, and they both knew it very well.

Dick liked her, and she was very fond of him too. They had practiced together several times, at his demand, and the times she had spent time with him at the Wayne Manor weren't few either.

That! That was what infuriated her, when it got down to it. How she knew they could be perfect for each other. She got along with all of his 'family', she knew him like no one else, she was a part of his life already. And she liked it. She liked how Alfred now knew what kind of tea she liked. How all the once-Robins trusted her more than anyone, after him, of course. How they always seem to know what kind of move the other one will make when they fight. How they liked being around each other, even when they got nothing to say. And hell it was just platonic. The physical attraction was too much to ignore, let alone deny its existence. Why wouldn't he just accept it?

And that was the precise moment when she decided to pursue that man for one last time. For she was a hundred percent certain that they could be happy, and the life they were living had shown them more than once that each happy moment they get could easily be their last. And nothing was ever given to her. As she had fought for everything else, she would fight for her right to be with the person she wanted. She didn't want to live with the regrets of not chasing it to the end.

She would give it one last chance. One final shot, for then, if she lost, she wouldn't bother again. What would be the point of running behind someone who 'didn't want' her? She was, after all, Diana, Princess of the Amazons, and she would never crawl behind the back of someone.

***I apologize for any typos I haven't noticed. Please spend ten seconds to give me the smallest of reviews!***


	2. Chapter 2

***I really hope this is a rapid update! I'm studying like crazy but needed a break! I want to thank the lovely guest who took the time to review, as well as those who favorited/followed this. You seriously made my day! I hope you like this!***

**CHAPTER TWO**

"_Diana." _She heard J'onn's voice from the plane's speaker.

"Yes, J'onn?"

"_Cheetah, Atomic Skull and Penguin were spotted in downtown Metropolis."_

"Not a coincidence, I suppose."

"_Batman's been leading an investigation on the Legion of Doom resurfacing. This is not a coincidence. I'm teleporting Black Canary on the jet. Batman is headed there as we speak."_

"We'll be on our way, then."

A short woo-ish sound later, Dinah Lance was on board.

"Hello there, girlfriend." She greeted, taking a seat along Diana.

"Hey. It's been long since we last paired up." Wonder Woman said, as the jet made a sharp turn around.

"I personally requested it. I'm peckish for some action!"

"So… Legion of Doom, again?"

"Looks like it. What else would those three be doing together?"

Diana shrugged. "We are to find out."

"So, how you've been doing?" Dinah asked with a sly grin, stretching her feet.

"Well, you could say. Although I can't seem to find a dress for a wedding I need to attend…" She replied grinning and arching an eyebrow.

Dinah chuckled. "Bet the couple's weird."

"The bride's a bit…loud. And the groom has a thing for green hats and bows."

"Ollie wanted a green tie, you know."

"…Risky choice."

"I vetoed it! Now he's going with a very nice grey one."

"Oh, nice."

"Let me tell you what he did the other day." Dinah said and proceeded with gossiping about her soon-to-be-husband.

OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO

Diana landed the invisible jet on top of the warehouse she usually used as a 'parking spot'. That Metropolis district was eerily silent during the night.

"Let's get going." Dinah said. "We need to meet up with Batman."

Diana nodded and grabbed Black Canary by the armpits, flying upwards. Batman wasn't very far.

The flew silently through buildings and trees until they reached the downtown city. Somewhere over a shady rooftop, she spotted Batman.

"There." She said, going down.

"How did you see him, girl?" Dinah said, half-smiling. "Damn!"

"Good eyesight." Diana replied, knowing it was a mix of good eyesight and being able to make out his figure everywhere, by now. She let Dinah go and landed some meters behind him. Black Canary landed smoothly on her feet too and they approached him.

"Got anything for us?" Dinah asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"They entered that building about half an hour ago." He replied, pointing at a simple sushi restaurant.

"I doubt they all craved for some salmon…"

"It definitely leads elsewhere. Underground, yes?" Diana said.

"Most likely. I've put small cameras all around the block. Should they come out, we'll be on them in a second."

"Maybe it would be quicker if we spread. I'll go wait on the other side, just in case…" Dinah said, subtly winking at Wonder Woman, whose face was decorated by a deep and confused frown.

"No need." Batman said abruptly, jumping down. A quick look over the rooftop showed them why; the trio had exited the building from where they went inside. Diana grabbed Dinah and followed Batman on the ground.

"If this isn't our beloved heroes…" Cheetah said smiling and revealing her sharp fangs.

"What were you doing in there?" Dinah asked, like she expected to receive an answer.

"None of your business, pretty face." Atomic Skull replied.

"And we're just leaving!" Penguin said, turning around.

"Not so fast." Batman said and, as if that was their signal, the three of them lunged forward, each one on his own target.

Cheetah had a wide grin on her face. It felt like she longed for this battle.

"What is it, Cheetah? Didn't you get enough beating the last time?" Diana asked, dodging the incoming attacks.

"Been waiting a long time to tear your royal face apart." Cheetah answered, kicking Diana's legs from the side. She fell down on her back. Cheetah would have gotten her face indeed, if she wasn't quick enough in rolling back up. She tried to land a fist in her opponent's back but she was quick and moved away, starting to attack her once again. Cheetah had indeed gotten swifter since their last brawl, but Diana wouldn't let herself get defeated by her so easily. Slowly making out the pattern of Cheetah's hits, she found the perfect split second to land her fist on her jaw and knock her several feet away, but Cheetah landed on her feet and sprinted on to Diana, taking her by surprise. Sharp claws on enchanted bracelets, they pushed each other back and forth, until Diana gave her a strong push and let go of her grip. For a fragment of a second, she turned her glance to her companions, but before she could see anything, Cheetah's foot kicked her face and she fell down. She flew up before the woman hybrid could get at her again and wiped her face from the dirt.

After gaining some height, she bulleted downwards, heading for Cheetah's head. Her opponent raised her hands, sharp claws ready to get her. She didn't go for the head thought. In the nick of time, she descended a bit more and hit Cheetah in her exposed abdomen, grabbing her and throwing her down. Before she could get up, she put herself over her and planted another firm hit on the hybrid's jaw, making sure she was unconscious. Swiftly, she tied Cheetah with her lasso and turned for the others.

Batman had already confined penguin and was assisting Dinah in handling Atomic Skull. Soon, he was down as well, and the police was on their way to gather them.

"That settles the three of them. I was expecting more of them." Batman commented.

"They weren't just the three of them, that's for sure." Black Canary said.

"We will be checking this area more often."

"There are certainly more entrances to where they went." Wonder Woman added. "But we should check this place."

"You go," Dinah said, "and I'll just watch over them till the police arrives."

Batman and Wonder Woman nodded and headed to the restaurant. It was a small place, with somewhere around seven tables, three of which were occupied. The customers and the keeper didn't seem to be bothered by their presence though. Batman started walking towards the cook but before he could ask him anything, he pointed towards the bathroom. Behind the bathroom door, stood a heavy, metal door.

"It has a retina scanner." Batman commented after examining the lock. "We will need to use our captives."

"Hey." Diana said. "Don't you think this guy led us in too easily? It's not like we're actually undercover."

"I don't think he knows who we are, or what is going on underneath his store in particular. All he knows is that weird people will be coming in and out. He gets paid to show them in and keep his mouth shut."

"How can he not know us?! Our faces are almost every day on the news."

"You're overestimating your popularity, Princess. Places like these are often opened by immigrants who might not be as well acquainted to us as our normal citizens."

"Let's get someone in here to open the door." She said, dropping the subject.

Batman nodded and they exited the place, to find Dinah by herself.

"So, they're gone." The blonde said. "MPD will keep them in their Headquarters for interrogation. What's with these faces?"

"We needed them to open a door." Diana replied.

"Oh. Eye scanners, eh?"

"Yes."

"It doesn't matter now." Batman said. "We will use them after the questioning. Let's head back to the base."

Dinah suddenly gasped. "What time is it?!"

"Around eleven, why?"

"I was to go see a band performing, you know, 'cause I was thinking of hiring them for the wedding and I completely forgot! I don't think I'll make it in time… Unless…"

"Unless?" Diana asked.

"Unless I use the jet. Please, Wondie. I'll have it back in its place in a couple of hours."

"Won't you come to give the others a heads-up?"

"You're fine to do it by yourselves. I really want to see them!"

"Fine, you may take it. I'll ride with Batman."

"Thank you so much, honey!" She replied, turning her back to them and running to where they had left the plane.

"Don't you want me to take you there?" Diana shouted behind her.

"Nah, I'll take a cab!" She shouted back, still running.

"No sense." Batman murmured, starting to walk towards a dark alley.

"Oh, come on. She's getting married. A marriage has a lot of planning, you know."

He remained silent until, several turns later, they reached his jet. Diana casually took a seat at the passenger's seat and fastened her seatbelt. Bruce was soon inside, switching its machines on. As per usual, he turned the air-conditioning on and set it to a quite low temperature. Of course he'd be warmed up after a fight, Diana thought and tugged at his mask shortly, until it fell behind, over his neck. Bruce didn't mind her.

His forehead was decorated with silver sweat drops and his jet-black hair was starting to stick to his temples. Watching him, she smiled absent-mindedly.

"Legion of Doom resurfacing, you think?" She asked, initiating a conversation as they took off.

"Most likely."

"Must be at its early stages though. No other groups like these have been sighted."

"That doesn't guarantee that. We need to be very thorough about this."

"Like we are with everything else, Bruce. We will handle it, as we always do."

"We will take them out before they fully regroup."

"Thinking of an undercover mission?"

"Yes. J'onn and his nephew can shape shift and infiltrate as Cheetah and Penguin. We will use their capturing on our advantage."

"I'll order some new patrols over Metropolis, for any villain sightings to be noticed."

"I'll tell Dick to detect any signals of communication they might have used and slipped our attention."

"Lucky he's a master hacker, eh?" Diana said, grinning.

Bruce nodded and remained silent once again. Diana didn't mind it one bit. He always stopped conversing after a while, but that was how he was.

"Got any plans for tonight?" She asked again, half-smiling.

He looked at her from the corner of his eye. "The usual."

Diana rolled her eyes, knowing that he meant Justice League duty and then Gotham dwelling. "What did I expect."

"Nice brawl, back there." He said, changing the subject.

"Cheetah was much better than she used to be."

"You took your mind of the fight, though, at a point."

"What?"

"You turned your look elsewhere and she kicked you. You must never let your mind drift anywhere but your fight."

"For a guy who preaches absolute battle concentration, you seem to be have been watching _my _fight quite closely."

"I was just monitoring my surroundings."

"Monitoring your surroundings…Yes… And, anyhow, I was only trying to check on my comrades. Can't blame me for that."

Bruce remained quiet once again.

"You don't need to worry about me in battle." Diana insisted, making a general statement, with a soft tone in her voice.

"I don't." He simply replied, entering the JL satellite.

Diana smiled to herself, making sure she remembered the precise moment he said that, because she was going to hold him on to it, sooner or later.

After reporting about the incident, she was free to head to her chambers. Shutting the door behind her, she grabbed the phone and dialed the number, knowing the man on the other line wouldn't be asleep by now.

"_Wayne Manor, who am I speaking with?"_

"Hello, Alfred."

"_Oh. Good evening, Princess."_

***I apologize for any unnoticed typos. Please, leave me a tiny little review, even three words long, to tell me how you found it!***


	3. Chapter 3

***Here's chapter three, lovely people. I really hope you enjoy it, and please leave me a review. They mean a lot to us, writers. Thanks in advance for reading!**

**PS: Special thanks to the wonderful guest who reviewed again! No words can express my gratitude.***

**CHAPTER 3**

Bruce Wayne couldn't help but watch out of the high windows of his main living room, waiting for the video conference to end. He much preferred it, though, to having to go to Wayne Enterprises in person. He needed to be present during some of the Head meetings but secretly being a superhero consumed most of his time, so he soon figured out that these e-conferences were the best solution. He simply put on a shirt and a tie, sat on his favorite armchair and voted against or for company options. They were usually done within a couple of hours. That one was a short one, as it had lasted for an hour, and now they were about to depart, so he was free to engage in his…other activities.

Putting the screen of his laptop down, he got up and stretched, watching the sun go down on the horizon. He was assigned to no missions of the League for the night, so he had decided to get busy with some of his personal cases. Turning around, he saw Alfred waiting by the door, holding his suit jacket and looking at his watch.

"What are you doing, Alfred?" He asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Making sure you're ready to go, sir." He simply replied, still looking at his watch, and Bruce could bet he heard him murmur 'Oh, where is she?'.

Just about when he was ready to ask him what he meant, the sound of the main gate ring echoed around. The image of its camera appeared next to a screen by the door and he would say his heart skipped a beat if he didn't know better. Diana was sitting in her car, smiling. Her hair was fashioned differently than usual and he could tell she definitely wasn't in her superheroine outfit.

"_Are you ready, Bruce?"_ She asked.

"He'll be right there, Princess." Alfred spoke into the microphone.

"What is this?!" Bruce said, quite louder than what he intended.

"_Oh, you didn't know?"_ Diana said, arching an eyebrow and having a sly grin. "_I'm taking you on a date."_

Bruce's eyebrows shot up. 'What is this?!' he mouthed again to Alfred. His loyal butler simply gave him a small smile and held his jacket for him to wear. Bruce stormed outside, grabbing the jacket instead, and headed for his Manor's entrance. When he reached it, Diana had stepped outside and waited for him.

She was in a short black skirt and a matching tight shirt with a heart neckline and lace sleeves reaching just below her elbow. She was wearing a pair or simple black heels and several sparkling blings.

"I don't recall making this appointment for tonight." He said in an austere manner.

"That is because you didn't. Is it too bad that I took the liberty of making this a surprise?"

"And what is this exactly?"

"A date. It is a common practice between humans, I've figured."

Bruce truly wanted to be irritated about it, but something about her ways and smile was completely…disarming. "What for?" He asked, sighing.

"Well, many, many months ago, a certain Bruce Wayne mister was dancing with me but our dance was interrupted. Later that night, I told him that he owed me a dance, but I never got an invitation to it, so I decided to claim my dance myself." She grinned widely.

He half-smiled. "So, where are we going?"  
"Get in the car and I'll tell you." She replied, getting inside. Bruce followed and soon they were driving away from the Manor.

OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO

Bruce found that he agreed very much with Diana's taste in outings. It appeared that she had booked a table at a newly-opened piano restaurant in central Gotham. They were escorted to their table by the piano and a waiter handed them the menu cards.

"Do you like the place?" Diana asked, taking a quick look at the appetizers.

"Yes. Hadn't noticed it before."

"How would you, when you only tend to look the dark side of your city?"

"How can I not, when it's almost the only one Gotham has?"

"For someone so invested in this city, you seem too oblivious to its nice aspects. Aren't they what you're fighting for?"

"Nice aspects? Hm. Who knows which mobster boss runs this, deep down." Bruce said, his gaze becoming angry and vengeful.

"Stop that." Diana said, putting her card down. "I did not plan this for you to sulk on your usual gloomy issues. I will have none of that tonight."

Bruce gave her a good look, putting his card down as well and remaining silent, letting a small sigh escape his lips.

"I just want us to have fun." Diana continued. "Get our minds off our troubles. And we both know we do have a lot of problems to deal with, but we certainly are entitled to some personal time to…enjoy with each other…"

"Fair enough." Bruce replied, handing the cards to the waiter who just arrived. After taking their orders, he left, and Bruce cleared his throat. "Have you been planning this whole…outing for a while now?"

"No, no." Diana said smilingly, shaking her head and putting some strands of her hair behind her ear. "It was a spot-on decision I made yesterday. Alfred was, luckily, willing to help me."

"And why didn't you ask me directly, if I may ask?"

Diana gave him a scorning look. "Seriously? Had I asked you, we would have never, ever, ever gone out. You would have refused, although I honestly don't know why you would, but…"

"Hm, indeed."

"So I had to make it in a way you couldn't refuse."

"What if I didn't come outside, uh?"

"Oh," Diana half-smiled, "I would have dragged you out myself. No way in Hades would I let you slip away this time. And tell me, are you not enjoying yourself?"

"Never said that."

"Then don't dwell over it, and see that life has more to offer to you than bitterness, if you just let it do so."

Bruce didn't comment, as the waiter came again, to fill their glasses with sweet, fruity, red wine.

"Let us make a toast." He proposed, holding his glass. "To…"

"To tonight."

"To tonight, then."

They both took a small sip, tasting the wine and locking eyes. Diana's inside fire grew wilder with the wine. She wasn't afraid for what she was going to do, only excited. How could she be, after that look they shared? It was so promising. It almost felt like back then, when they had kissed. And Zeus knew how Diana longed for another one of those.

"Do you like it? The wine?" Bruce asked, drinking some more.

"Of course." Diana replied, fiddling with her glass. She liked the wine, the place, the company, everything. "You know what I really like about this place in particular?"

"Tell me."

"That, later on," she looked at him playfully, "a violin and a viola join the piano, to play some more…exquisite music. And people can dance in that opening among the tables over there." Bruce's eyebrows rose curiously. "You didn't expect me to take you somewhere where we wouldn't dance, did you?"

"I didn't, but I hoped." He said, half-smiling at her.

Their meals soon arrived, so some time went by eating and being engaged in idle chatter. Although Bruce always seemed to turn the conversation towards fighting, and evil and the League, Diana masterfully dodged the opportunities to continue such discussions. Instead, she gracefully tiptoed around the subject she was concerned about, dropping subtle hints here and there.

The nice flow of the dinner seemed to work miracles on Bruce's mood. Diana could tell, from his unclenched jaw, his more relaxed movements, his trying-to-get-wide grins or small laughs here and there and from his will to start a new conversation once another one came to its end. Diana didn't expect him to…crack a joke anytime soon, of course, but all these signs were enough to convince her that he, along with her, was having fun. And that was what it was all about…for now.

At the first note of the violin, Diana's face lit up. "Here it comes!" She said, smiling.

"Uh-oh." Bruce said jokingly. "Do we really have to do this?"

"Stop whining, mister. Last time it was you who led me to the dancefloor and I can clearly recall that you've got no two left feet. So get up and dance with me."

"If my lovely escort wishes so, then." He said, getting up, and Diana was sure her heartbeat went up several pulses. He stretched his hand to her and she took it, getting up as well. He paved the way to the clearing in the middle and put his other hand on her waist. Diana touched his shoulder with her free hand and they started swaying. People around did comment when they began; it was, after all, Bruce Wayne and a woman they swore they had seen somewhere before, casually dancing with each other. But that didn't concern Bruce or Diana, for they couldn't care less about them now.

All Bruce could see were sky blue eyes of…wonder and all Diana could see were dark eyes of mystery but familiar warmth. She had seen those eyes gathering stormclouds. Being full of wrath, full of hope, full of lust, even. She had seen them watering and trying to hold back the bitter tears. She had seen them smiling, scorning, judging. Yet, they never ceased to captivate her, like everything on their owner did. And she felt so blissfully happy at that precise moment, when they danced so well together, as if they had danced their whole lives, or, even better, as if they were made to dance and gaze upon each other for their lifetime. Nothing had ever felt so pure before.

Little did she know, that though Bruce's feelings at that moment were the best he had had for a long while now, a small 'thorn' inside him was making him 'bleed' worse and worse the more he allowed himself to lose time and space staring into the shade of blue he was sure would haunt him for decades to come.

OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO

Bruce soon realized, after they left the restaurant and having danced for several songs, that Diana had another stop in her mind to consider the night complete. It was a place Bruce had visited before, during one of the nights he had to make a public appearance in Gotham, but it had been redecorated since he did. It definitely looked better now. It was a crowded cocktail bar called 'Sencia'.

After grabbing their cocktails from the bar, Diana showed him the way upstairs, where it had much less people. She led them further to the eastern point of the fourth floor of the narrow building, where she pushed the glass door open and took them to the bar's balcony. It was paved with marble and had an amazing view of his hometown.

On a night like this, it almost seemed like the city was actually peaceful and quiet. Only he seemed to know what truly lurked underneath and what was to blame for the usual overflow of dark thoughts in his mind. But his mood was way too good to be spoiled by that again. It just couldn't cast away the illusion that everything was alright and he let himself relish that rare moment of tranquility, even though it was simply fake. For his mood would be ruined soon and he knew that, he was no fool.

Diana played a bit with the small wooden umbrella of her 'Primadonna' martini cocktail and leaned over the railing, next to Bruce. She let her head fall on his shoulder and felt him tense up a bit.

"Isn't it nice, then?" She began, gathering up her courage which had faltered for a moment.

"The evening?" Bruce asked, never taking his gaze off the city and sipping some of his drink.

Diana turned her back to the view, as it held no special interest for her other than the man admiring it and supported her elbows on the railing, turning to look at him. "Going out and having fun with…someone special." She answered, repeating the words she had said a long time ago, deep down wondering if he still remembered.

Bruce sighed deeply. It was an honest sigh, filled with…sadness, for some reason, and Diana couldn't understand why.

"Is this what it's all about again?" He said, shaking his head and looking down.

"What about it?" Diana asked, a bit agitated. "Are we not having fun? Am I not someone sp-"

"Yes, we are indeed having fun, but, please, Princess, don't make us have conversations that won't end well for neither of us." He urged.

"What is this supposed to mean?!" Diana said, raising the tone of her voice. "Last time I asked you, you told me some things, and I've been thinking that… they were absolutely stupid!"

"Excuse me?" He said, arching an eyebrow and turning to look at her.

"You said I am a warrior Princess. So? Last time I checked, being a warrior Princess has helped me save this planet more than once. Then, you said that you were a rich kid with lots of issues. You think I give a damn?! You think I can't handle your issues? Well, guess what? You're wrong! I can handle the whole problematic you and you know it. Do you think I'd still be here, taking you out on a freaking date if I minded? I'm even asking you to let me get closer to them, so don't try to intimidate me with your 'issues'!"

It was the first time Bruce had actually heard someone declare something so profound for him so openly. His issues weren't an…issue for her the least bit. And of course he knew she could handle them. She was truly a Wonder woman and he knew that better than anyone. And that was why it hurt more and more as she kept talking and it kept getting harder for him to maintain a straight face.

"Then you said that it's dating within the team and it will be disastrous. Well, the married couples within the League show how that's a hideous argument. And last but not least, you said you had enemies that could hurt your 'someone special'. Yesterday, you told me that you didn't worry about me in battle." Bruce's eyebrows shot up. "Or do I remember incorrectly?"

"No, but-"

"Then that settles it, Bruce!" She approached him a bit. "Because I am not afraid to put you and me on the line, if that means we could be together. I know you can handle enemies, as you know I can as well. And in the life we're living, every time we're happy could be the last one we get. Oh, Bruce, my Bruce, am I not someone special for you? Am I not worthy to be with you? What is that scares you so much? What is it that doesn't let you 'go out and have fun with someone special'?"  
His jaw was shaking, as were his hands in his pockets and he couldn't control it. The only thing he could manage was to keep himself from breaking his façade and having a ridiculous tear fall. Because that was exactly was he still feared. That, in the end, she would get hurt. Maybe from his enemies. Probably by them, yes. But maybe by him. Maybe his issues would be too much. Maybe he wouldn't know how to keep a woman like her. Maybe _he _would hurt her, and how could he live with himself after that? Not when she meant…well, quite a lot. And, again, what if she got injured or-he hesitated before even thinking about it-killed just because of him? Just because she was that 'someone special'? She said she could handle enemies but, in truth, no one could ever be certain about it. And her being safe meant more than his personal happiness, right? So he gathered every last bit of self-control and sense was left into him and put on the biggest show he had ever needed to.

He caressed her cheek. Her eyes were watery, but shiny as always; she was expecting him to give in. "Diana, Princess, listen to me." He looked down. "I can't do that because I…I don't have someone special."

The martini glass shattered in her hand. "Look me in the eyes and say that."

Bruce's heart did skip a beat then. How could he say such a thing when looking into her eyes? How?! He couldn't do it. He simply wouldn't say anything and hope that her confusion would be enough to cloud her judgment to see that he was lying. Hesitantly, he brought his look to hers.

Diana couldn't know where to blame what happened then. To the fact that she was about to burst into tears? To the little more alcohol she had had, even though she didn't feel the least bit unstable? To this being utterly surreal already? She couldn't tell, but for the first time in all the years she knew him, his look was…unreadable. She didn't understand what it was trying to say to her, because she knew that eyes and mouths often told different things. But now his eyes were just…so confusing! She kept looking in them, trying to find something, something like what she had seen-or thought she had seen, at least-when they were dancing, but got nothing. And that was enough to convince her. She didn't need to hear his answer again, her dignity was damaged enough for one night.

"Fine, then." She said, trying to break a smile, but her voice gave away her emotional state. "I…I understand. P-Please, let's keep this between us…For…the sake of the team…"

"Yes, of course." Bruce replied, not believing she was actually shaken enough not to see through him like she did, most of the time. "I'm so-"

"Let's get going, then! We've finished our drinks"-she wiped the martini off her hand on her skirt-"and it's time to get you home."

"I can take myself home."

"No, no, I insist. I got you out, I'll get you back." She turned her back at him and started walking inside.

Once they were in the car, Diana blasted the music high and her only words were to remind him to fasten his seatbelt. She drove like there were absolutely no speed limits and, not like Bruce normally had any respect for those, but the fact that he wasn't holding the steering wheel made him feel just a little bit anxious every time she stepped on the gas pedal, making the car growl. They were back at the Manor in record time, though. He exited and wished her goodnight but received no answer. Once he shut the door, Diana drove off at an enormous speed and Bruce reminded himself to check on her tracker in the morning, just to be certain.

Diana didn't know why she had arrived to that house, but that was what she felt like doing and she didn't care what time it was or if she interrupted anything. She pressed the doorbell several times, until a sleepy Oliver in-how original-green trunks opened the door.

"Diana? What are you doing here?"

"Hi." She said cracking a smile with much effort. "Is Dinah inside?"

"Yes, I th-"

"Great." She stormed inside and found Dinah in the hallway. "Dinah, girlfriend, hi!"

"Hey…What's going on?"

"Have we thrown you a bachelorette party yet?!" Diana said, louder than she thought.

"No, but-"

"Then get dressed immediately! We're going clubbing till the morning light. Now."

Her look showed she wouldn't take 'no' as an answer, so Dinah quickly threw a mini dress over her and left with Diana, leaving Ollie behind.

There were a few things that could help dissolve Diana's tension, and, after brawling, dancing intensely was one of them. Since it would really be suspicious for her to go for an…after-midnight training spree at the Base, she had to find another way to get her mind off things for the night. Luckily Dinah didn't ask many questions and they got to dance a lot, until her feet eventually hurt. She knew, of course, that wouldn't do much for mental state, but she would deal with things one at a time.

OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO

Bruce must have walked the slowest he had ever walked to get inside the Manor. He gently pushed the main door and entered the house, practically dragging his feet behind. He would have headed for the bedroom, but he knew no sleep would come to him, so he went for the Bat Cave instead. Not that anything would keep his mind occupied, but he could try.

Alfred stood silently behind the office's door by the main entrance. He had hoped –and he expected, really, after seeing Princess Diana so fixed-that Master Bruce wouldn't return home alone tonight or that he would have a happy face, at least. But nothing of that sort happened, as he only saw a broken, he would say, Bruce Wayne make his way inside and head for his sanitary. He shook his head. No way in hell would he leave it like this.

***A/N: I hope this chapter gave you as many feels as it gave to me! Please tell me how you found it, it means a lot to hear from readers, whether it is positive or negative! Thanks for reading this far.***


	4. Chapter 4

***A/N: Mr. Owl and Sam, thanks for making my day each time.**

**This is supposed to be a more…grounded chapter. I really wanted to give you a chapter a day BUT I'm horribly busy with my exams so… yeah. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this. Thanks for reading so far!***

**CHAPTER FOUR**

Waking up and starting her usual morning routine, Diana was surprised at the mind's defensive mechanisms against everything that jeopardizes its stability. She realized, of course, that the flood of crushingly sad feelings was there, strong as ever, but facing that almost traumatizing experience, her mind had lifted a barrier to shield her upfront thoughts from the rest that craved to be felt. She knew that sooner or later she would have to settle down and let them all out, but for now, she felt comfortably numb. The only thing upsetting was a small fear of seeing him, because that could affect her 'mental barrier' and she didn't know how she'd react should that happen.

So, she showed up at the League's base and got busy with everything she had to do, only being careful to avoid the hallways he usually used and the rooms he usually visited. He wasn't to present to Base today, but anything could happen at any moment.

OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO

Alfred silently descended the stairs that led to the Bat Cave holding his silver tray. Bruce was sitting in front of his workstation, still in his last-night outfit, supporting his head between his hands. Alfred could only guess how long he had stayed like that.

"Good morning, sir." He said approaching. "Had fun last night?"

Bruce slowly lifted his head and gave him a hastened look. Alfred confirmed his suspicions of bloodshot eyes. "Yes." He replied firmly, and Alfred confirmed, again, that he was going to lie about it.

"So, when are we to expect Princess Diana for dinner?" The butler asked.

"Mm, what?" Bruce asked, rubbing his eyes and pressing the bridge of his nose.

"Well, didn't you invite her over for dinner after such an outing? I thought it obvious."

"No, Alfred, no."

"With all due respect," Alfred said arching an eyebrow and wanting to scold him like he would when he was just a little child, "It was rude of you, sir."

"What do you want, Alfred?"

"What _I _want is irrelevant. It is what you want that's under question."

"Don't you have anything to clean or take care of? I have to work to do. Leave me at it."

"Very well, sir." He said, grabbing his tray and heading back to the main Manor. He definitely had his work cut out for him.

As soon as Alfred was gone, Bruce switched his machinery on and accessed the League's tracking system. Diana's spot was shining clearly at the Base.

OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO

Diana was happy to find out that her schedule for the morning was to train with Cassie and Donna instead of being assigned to some mission, risking facing him. She knew she'd have to deal with this new 'fear' of hers soon, but she just wasn't ready to do so today.

Casually as ever, she entered the Practice Arena, finding Wonder Girl and Donna Troy warming up.

"Good morning, ladies." She greeted, wearing her usual warm smile.

"Good morning!" They both replied simultaneously.

"Had a good night's sleep? Because we are going to work _hard _today!"

"Yeah!" Cassie exclaimed and Donna nodded.

"So… let's start with our usual move routines. Shall we?"

The girls stood behind several meters behind her, forming a triangle and ready to commence practicing their hits. The move routine was one they had done innumerable times by now, but it was one of the most useful, as it was the ideal warm-up and they could perfect their battle moves, taking up to their mentor.

Wonder Woman clenched her fists and nodded at Red Tornado at the monitoring room. He pressed a button and three practice targets emerged in front of them. The first part of the routine was punches. She always loved a good punching round and, today, she needed one more than ever. Giving the signal to the girls, they started landing their fists at the targets; jabs, hooks and uppercuts, all perfectly synchronized. With every liberating hit, Diana seemed to get back to her usual self. That was why she enjoyed practicing and working out; it always made her feel good. And today, it meant more than that; she would get rid of the toxic feelings storming up inside. Or she could try, at least.

Moving on to the kicks and the combos, the fight move routine was complete within half an hour and the hit targets were withdrawn.

"What should we do today?" Donna asked, hastily wiping her forehead with the back of her palm.

Diana half-smiled. "I'm feeling particularly energetic today, so I was thinking that we could try something different today."

"Different like?" Cassie asked.

"How about you two versus me?"

"What?!"

"Why not, Cassandra? You have both fought against me and fought each other, so maybe we can now see how well you cooperate against a strong target." Diana folded her arms over her chest and grinned playfully. The girls looked at each other hesitantly.

"So, girls. Don't hold back. Let's make this a good one." Wonder Woman insisted and took some steps back. "Come at me."

Cassie and Donna shared one last look and sprung on to Diana trying to pin her down. Both of them were soon sent back flying across the room.

OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO

Immensely satisfied with the practice round, Diana took a small break at the monitoring room and was soon heading to the Base's cafeteria.

"Hey, Princess!" Barry Allen greeted, landing beside her by the coffee stand with a small gush of wind. "What's up?"

"Hello, Flash. How are you?"

"Juuuust a bit tired, but nothing a good shot of double espresso can't fix!"

"Night shift?"

"Night mission, more like. Had to patrol Metropolis 'cause Nightfall was spotted but Green Lantern took care of that, so I had to go all over the city again, 'cause then Star Sapphire was spotted but there was no sight of her when I went to the sighting spot, so I needed to head back in and-"

"Take a breath!" Diana interrupted him, as he spoke at the pace of four words a second.

"Yes, right, sorry. So…Yup. A strong espresso and I'll back up and…running!" He said, wiggling his eyebrows underneath his mask. Diana laughed at his pun and proceeded with filling her own cup. They sat down at a table and Barry, bubbly as always, was talking non-stop. Diana liked his company, as he always seemed carefree and joyous, though she knew he could be mature and serious when the times called for him being so. Even though she would have loved to continue her break with the Flash for a little more, something quite further caught her eye, and she was soon bidding the speedster goodbye and leaving the way she came in haste.

On the other side of the cafeteria, Batman walked slowly inside, just to see Wonder Woman's back going away. He didn't know why he had showed up at the Base, to be frank with himself. It wasn't like he didn't have his own cases to work on at home, but something drew him to the League on that day. And he refused to let himself admit that it was the woman walking away from him; because that was just it.

OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO

Diana had left the cafeteria in a state of panic. Her palms were sweaty, her shoulders were shaking, her feet felt unstable and she seemed to be overheating. Grazing the hallway wall, she flew quickly to her chambers and made sure the door was locked. Before she did anything else, she sat on her bed and stared at the opposite wall. Although she should have seen her photographs and pictures, her mind could only project the image of a man dressed in black and grey, and then the same man, stripped of his costume, looking at her. And that was when she realized that a hot stream of tears were rolling down her cheeks and dripping from her chin to her lap.

All the efforts to burst out in other ways had been futile; no dancing, no sleeping, no brawling could help her. Now she was openly exposed to every single bitter feeling she had been bottling up since last night.

Her mind could only come up with a single word against what had happened; why. "Why?" She started whispering, tears unceasingly caressing the corners of her lips. Why wasn't she special to him? Why had she hoped so much? Why had she believed he felt the same way? Why did her life suddenly feel so dark and unwelcoming? Why did she have to suffer now? Why did it hurt so much? Before she knew it, she was having her face in her hands and crying with sobs.

When was the last time she had cried? She couldn't remember. She had always been so strong, so sure of herself, yet now she felt like a little girl…crying over a boy. A 'boy' she wanted to be forever with, no matter how sappy it sounded, because he still meant so much to her. That was why it hurt so much, she figured. If he was in danger, she would still run to him; if he was depressed, she would still be there to cheer him up; if he was to die, she would still give her life to protect him. Oh, how pathetic she sounded. Pathetic because he didn't feel that way. She was foolish enough to believe he did, but now she had embarrassed herself and had to suffer through all these nasty feelings that made her want to stay locked up in her room and never come out again.

And all it took to let them in was a simple glance at his figure! A small, fraction-of-a-second look at him across a large room, to make her feel unwanted and unmemorable, unloved and unappreciated. And she couldn't let him see her in that state, of course, nor could she face him as it was, without falling on the floor and asking him all these things in a state of a crying mess. She knew better than that. As she also knew that her feelings were way too strong to go away just like that, but she had to try. She had to try and forget them, for the sake of the League, the people and for the sake of herself, first and foremost. It was a bad hit to her dignity and self-esteem, but she was strong and she would cope with it, just not now.

All she wanted and needed to do now, was to mourn. The tears were therapeutic, as the more they fell, the number she felt, and that numbness was soothing. She let her head rest on her pillow and closed her eyes. Tears did soak the pillow, but she was more silent now, and soon she had fallen into a dreamless but restless sleep.

***Sorry for any typos I haven't noticed! Please leave me a tiiiiiiiiiiiiny review! I love hearing from the readers, whether your feedback is positive or negative! :D ***


	5. Chapter 5

***A/N:So, yes, this is a little belated but I was busyyy! Thanks for reading so far. I hope you enjoy this chapter and please give me a small review!***

**CHAPTER FIVE**

Diana woke up with a headache. Crying yourself to sleep didn't help indeed, she figured. After washing her face up, she decided not to sulk on anything for the rest of the day but not lock up anything too; bottling up her feelings had made them burst quite…violently, so she thought that it was better to allow herself to feel sad as much as she liked to. Time was the best doctor and she would get over it, that was for sure.

Exiting her chambers, she headed for the main mission room. J'onn had confirmed that she hadn't been requested anywhere so she thought she could go around and help some rookies. Just when she was about to leave the room, J'onn called her right back.

"Wonder Woman!"

"Yes?" She said, hurrying to his side.

"Grodd, Giganta and some of Grodd's guards have just appeared in Metropolis Harbour! Our new patrols have spotted them. Captain Atom has requested assistance."

"I'm off, then!"

"I will be sending in more available reinforcements. Make sure you capture them for interrogation."

She nodded hastily and flew to her jet.

OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO

When Diana arrived at the Harbor, the situation was already chaotic. Vixen had been teleported in the jet with her and they both approached the ongoing battle as quickly as possible. Grodd's guards were indeed quite numerous. Grodd was positioned in their middle, untouched, as she could estimate. Captain Atom and some other Leaguers were trying to fend off Giganta and the guards simultaneously.

"Giganta needs to go!" Wonder Woman said, flying over Vixen.

"Yup!" Vixen replied and they both headed towards the enormous woman.

"Wonder Woman!" Giganta said, grinning and aiming her fist at her. Diana easily dodged it punched her forearm strongly. With the mass of an elephant, Vixen fell on Giganta's leg and the colossal woman started falling in front, only to be pushed back by Wonder Woman's face kick. She knew, of course, that that alone wasn't enough to keep Giganta down, but there were more where that came from. Vixen was soon charging again, so Diana was free to turn to look at something that caught her fancy some seconds ago; a jet black aircraft landed nearby. Batman had stormed outside and was headed towards Captain Atom. Reasonable, she thought, since –League-wise, at least-he was currently nowhere else engaged, so he was available to assist. A real battle, she soon realized, was able to keep her mind focused on her priorities; saving the citizens and capturing the villains, as no harmful feelings were present…yet.

Turning back to Giganta, Vixen was trying to keep her down but wasn't too successful, as the giant has regained her senses and was getting up again, no matter how heavy Vixen could get. Diana was quick in charging towards Giganta's abdomen, but hit her ribcage in an attempt to dodge her incoming open palm. The hit was a good one, though, as momentarily Giganta folded in pain and Vixen, with the brunt of a rhino, hit her leg again. Giganta managed to stay upright, though, and grabbed Vixen, tossing her several meters away. Wonder Woman huffed; this was taking too long. The guards weren't getting any fewer and Grodd was getting closer and closer to escaping.

Giganta raised her hand to get Wonder Woman again. Diana managed to dodge it and headed for the giant's chin, grazing the other incoming hand. She was successful in landing a fierce punch on Giganta's neck. That, combined with her weakened from Vixen leg, led in the colossal woman falling down once again, turning some fountains and pavements to dust. Diana made sure she'd stay that way with a finishing kick. She instructed Vixen to confine her as she headed for Captain Atom's side. He was cooperating with Shining Knight in handling the left half of the guards.

"Need some help?" She offered, punching a gorilla away.

"We're managing!" Captain Atom said. "Go help Batman on the other side. We'll circle Grodd!"

Diana nodded and flew to Batman. Something did flinch inside her, but she silenced it, as adrenaline took over and the fight was all that mattered. He was kicking and throwing punches everywhere, but the guards did seem too many to handle, even for such a talented fighter. An explosive batarang later, he had cleared the space around him a little more, moving further. Wonder Woman landed right behind him so that they were back to back. They usually, when paired, fought like this; no one would come to them from behind and they could assist each other with only a word. They had some combo moves as well and they were, usually, extremely effective. Diana began with fending off several armed gorillas with her bracelets and fists. Batman made good use of his machines, firing several devices into different directions and causing small explosions to keep the guards down.

"Switch!" Batman shouted and Wonder Woman instinctively kicked the ground, flying up. She arched her back and flipped around, bringing her legs over herself and landing where Batman was, kicking two guards in the process. Batman had passed underneath her and launched batarangs at the incoming gorillas. Exchanging positions like that worked whenever Batman needed some seconds he couldn't get or when more enemies were headed their way. Performing a stunt like that gave them some time-seconds, but precious time-and helped whenever the enemies were starting to get used to the fighting style of one of them. 'Variety helps' Diana remembered Bruce saying clearly.

She grabbed one of the fallen guards's spear-like weapon from the ground to fend off more. "Afto then voeetha-ee!" Diana called at Bruce in Greek, knowing he would understand, but Grodd's fighters probably wouldn't.

Bruce had studied Greek along with many other languages. He understood her perfectly when she spoke in that tongue, but he avoided it speaking in Greek himself. Diana had just said 'This isn't helping!'. "What do you suggest?!" He shouted back, kicking a gorilla.

Diana stabbed a guard and pushed him onto another. "Preppee na phtassoome ton Grodd!" She said, insisting that they had to reach Grodd.

"How?"

"Tha aphisoome toos froorooss!" Said she.

She suggested leaving the guards. Bruce agreed that they needed to get to Grodd, but the guards were too many and could be a problem to their plan. "They're too many!"

"Ee Vixen erchete! Tha toos kratisi aftee!" Diana told Bruce, after having seen Vixen running to them. She could hold them for a while.

"Okay." Batman said between hits. Since Vixen was coming, as Diana said, they could approach Grodd.

"Erevos!" Diana shouted the plan's code name. Batman swiftly dropped a smoke bomb to the ground, surrounding themselves and the guards. He with a long, metal bar and she with a spear, cleared the space immediately around them, as no new guards were coming forward. They dropped their weapons simultaneously and Diana grabbed Bruce from his armpits, launching them both into the air. She turned to the center of the guards' area, just about when Vixen was attracting the gorillas' attention. She dived down, letting go of Batman and heading straight for Grodd. The gorilla mastermind was very quick, though, and grabbed her hands before she could hit him and tossed her to the ground.

Batman, if he wanted to be true to himself, would have run to her before everything else, but there was no one there to hold Grodd's attention and she had had much worse hits in the past, so he tried to convince himself that everything was alright, all the while fighting Grodd. Captain Atom emerged through the guards on the other side, planting a ray of energy on the gorilla's helmet, whose force field absorbed it. Grodd had a moment of evil laughing before turning to Captain Atom. Batman tried throwing a batarang at it, but the force field repelled it as well.

Wonder Woman got up, shaking debris off her. Captain Atom had joined their efforts, but that new helmet of Grodd seemed to empower him. Batman's efforts to take it off had been fruitless; a field protected it. She removed her lasso and launched at Grodd, confining his hands. The gorilla growled. Before she could enjoy for a split moment her capturing, a gorilla soldier ran from somewhere between the nearby buildings, holding a long, cannon-like artifact.

"Master Grodd!" He exclaimed. "It's ready!"

Before Diana, or anybody else for that matter, could understand who had come or what 'it' was, the soldier fired the cannon, and a bluish ray went straight for Grodd. He had a smug smile on his face, as his body disintegrated and he vanished. Diana's lasso knot fell on the ground. Wide-eyed, she growled in frustration, dragging her lasso back, she aimed it at the soldier and the weapon. He tried to get away, but she was quicker and soon his face was on the ground. She landed next to him and grabbed the weapon, just about when the rest of the heroes finished off the remaining guards.

"What happened anyway?" Vixen asked when they finally gathered around together, having confined Giganta and the guards.

"Grodd used a ray from this to get away." Captain Atom said. "I am not certain what it is."

"I'm guessing something like a teleportating beam." Wonder Woman said.

"I will take it to my workplace to take a look." Batman said. "Comparing it with other Gorilla technology we've studied, I should be able to tell what its function is."

"We will be interrogating Giganta and the guards. J'onn will give you a heads up, Diana, for when you and your lasso can work on that." Captain Atom informed.

"Certainly." The Amazon Princess agreed, handing the cannon to Batman carefully. Subconsciously, she looked down when doing that.

"Let's head back now." Vixen said. "We need to give a report to the Base."

OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO

Bruce flew silently with his jet over the sea. Soon he would be arriving in Gotham. He had placed the cannon in the back of his jet and was kind of excited to get his hands on it. They really had to thank Diana for acting quickly and capturing the soldier and that weapon. _Diana, _he thought again and let a sigh escape his system.

He wondered whether he would be so…disturbed with seeing her for a long time to come. But then, he thought, she was worse. She wouldn't even lift her eyes to him. Bruce longed to see her eyes, as it had been some days since he last did, and he found himself missing them more than he used to. Probably because, deep down, he felt guilty even though he knew he did the right thing for her. Sometimes at night, he really thought if causing the both of them so much pain was indeed for the best of them, but he usually shook the thoughts away with convincing himself that it was for her safety. However, as his mind drifted around this subject, he could think of nothing but how well they clicked together, and that showed on the battlefield today as well; he needn't but say a word for their moves to be set in motion and help them both out.

He wondered if that would last now that they were… Who was he kidding? They were going to drift apart, no matter how much he didn't want to. She was heartbroken, he was supposed to have nothing but colleague interest in her, and that meant that their relationship in any way was going nowhere. If he had told her the truth back at that bar, he would be flying along with her to the Manor now and he wouldn't be navigating miserably around Gotham. But if he had done that, he would have probably exposed her to many dangers and then he would be navigating even more miserably around Gotham.

"Oh, Diana…" He said lowly, shaking his head. The jet passed through the familiar waterfall and landed on its platform inside the Bat Cave. He got off, took the cannon, placed it on his bench and went upstairs. As much as he'd like to get busy with it right now, he really needed to cover some of his basic needs; he was hungry and incredibly thirsty.

Walking upstairs, he removed his hood and entered the sitting room. Alfred was sitting on the luxurious couch, watching some documentary on the television.

"Did your duty for the world well, sir?" He asked, not taking his gaze from the flat screen.

"Yes."

"Your dinner has been served and awaits you." Alfred said and Bruce exited the room without further comments. He devoured his meal in record time and got up to get changed in his room. On his chaise longue, Alfred had put the outfit he had picked for him for tomorrow's wedding Bruce needed to attend. Bruce would have expected to see a usual black tuxedo, but instead saw a pair of brown formal pants with small vertical stripes, a light yellow shirt, a beige suit jacket and a red bowtie. He was no fashion expert himself, but that outfit was hideous. Swiftly, he went back to where Alfred was.

"Alfred, what was that outfit for tomorrow?"

"What with it, sir?"

"Am I going to be presenting a 90s game show that I haven't been informed about?"

"No."

"Then what are these clothes you picked?!"

"Oh, you disliked them, sir? What can I say. Maybe your outfits require a… _woman's touch._"

Bruce rolled his eyes. "Go get my grey tux, Alfred."

"As you wish, sir." Alfred replied, with a small, playful grin underneath his moustache.

***A/N: Oh, oh, oh, what are these, Bruce? Second thoughts? Hm. Hey, I hoped you like this little chaaapey. I didn't have much time to work on it but I'd like to think it's decent. Please give me some feedback. Thanks for your time and sorry for any typos that went unnoticed!***


	6. Chapter 6

***A/N: I'm hopefully getting back on track with my chapter-a-day schedule. I hope you like this and thanks for reading so far!***

**CHAPTER SIX**

Bruce would normally abstain from these kinds of occasions but having almost every single one of his comrades tell him to go had convinced him to attend it. It would almost be like a League fancy dress party, since the couple were Leaguers, as well as their friends.

Tiredly, he put on his dark grey tux and had Alfred fix his bowtie.

"Don't look so dreadfully annoyed, sir." He commented. "You're supposed to be going to a pleasant occasion."

"I don't like weddings."

"Will you look so miserable at your own wedding as well, sir?"

"What?"

"I think you heard me clearly, master Bruce." He replied, finishing up the bowtie.

"I said I'm not the one for weddings, Alfred." He insisted.

"Oh well…" Alfred said, sighing slightly and moving on to adjusting the tuxedo fitting. "I remember your parents' wedding, sir." He said, and Bruce lifted his eyebrows. "I was much younger back then, of course, but how could I forget such a wedding…"

Bruce hadn't moved, or reacted in any way, so Alfred went on. He knew he had his full attention when he talked about things like this one. "Your mother, sir, was a very elegant lady and her wedding couldn't be any less elegant, even though the best part about two people getting married isn't the material aspect, of course. You see, master Bruce, women can be seen radiating in happiness in various moments in their lifetimes and their wedding is no different, of course, but nothing can compare to how the groom looks when he takes the first look at his bride on that day; you can never see a look of purer blissfulness than that of the groom as the bride walks to him. And your father, sir, was indeed very happy to marry your mother. They were very much in love and that showed. I wish I had a picture of your father when he saw your mother walking to him by her father's hand but unfortunately, people tend to photograph the bride's march quite more than the standing groom, I'm afraid, and it's a real shame." Alfred finished perfecting the suit and went to grab the silver cufflinks. "Because, you see, master Bruce, a wedding is the day when two people agree to spend their lifetime together, through no matter what, and how can anyone not look happy when he or she is being paired forever with the one he or she loves? That is, of course, only when there's honest love we're talking about. Nowadays so many couples are getting divorced and I find it sad. Isn't it quite unfortunate, sir?"

Bruce absentmindedly nodded and Alfred examined him with the corner of his eye, going on. "I do understand that it is necessary in some cases but, again, finding a person who _loves _you and _accepts _you _no matter what your flaws are_, must be quite hard to find. Such a feeling being _mutual _must indeed be a _one-in-a-million_ case, I suppose." Alfred concluded, making sure to stress some words a bit more, to get his point across.

"Enough with this, Alfred." Bruce frowned. "I need to go or else I'll be late."

"Your car is ready, sir."

OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO

Diana wasn't certain if she really wanted to go, but she had to. Her friends were getting married and she couldn't be absent, so she put on her new light blue dress, a pair of golden sandals, some golden accessories and was ready to go.

The main reason she didn't feel up to going was because she was…envious and it would hurt. A wedding was a celebration of mutual affection, after all, and what could be 'better' than having it being rubbed on her face for several hours while she pretended to be content? It wasn't that she wasn't happy for her friends, of course, but all she could think of was how much she would like for her story to have been somewhat different, for her feelings to be mutual with his. But there was nothing she could do now, so she put on her usual smile and headed for the wedding, making an agreement with herself, that she'd try to have as much fun as possible.

When she arrived at the park they had selected, many of her acquaintances were already present. She walked somewhat to the front and joined Clark and Barry.

"And I was wondering when you were going to show up!" Barry said, scooting a seat to the left so she could sit between them. "You look very pretty, as usual."

"Thank you very much, Barry. You both look very 'sharp'."

"Thanks, Diana. How are you?" Clark asked, leaning back on his chair.

"Alright. Happy for our friends."

"Did you see the groom?" Barry asked, grinning.

"When I was coming here, yes. What is he doing strolling around?"

"He's way too nervous!" The speedster giggled. "Can't keep still!"

"Why, isn't he excited?"

"Yes, but, you know how these things are." Clark said, half-smiling.

"Tying the knot can make a man sweat alright." Barry said. "But t'was his choice, so…"

Diana shrugged and folded her legs. Soon, Oliver had marched back at the wedding arch and stood waiting, with his best man at his side.

Bruce walked over to the wedding spot. The rows of chairs were beginning to fill up, as more and more people were coming. At the second row on the right, he spotted Flash's ginger hair, Clark's bulky physique and Diana's elegant back, covered in thick, black strands of hair. He thought that maybe he should go sit elsewhere in order not to make things awkward for Diana mostly, but logic prevailed, as Clark would have been suspicious if he hadn't joined them. She could handle it.

Silently as usual, he took a seat next to Clark.

"Hey there." The Kryptonian greeted.

"Hi Bats!" Barry said, waving his hand.

"Hello, Bruce." Diana said last. She gave him a hastened look and turned her gaze to her lap.

Bruce nodded to all of them and turned to look in front. Diana looked amazing, he thought, as she always did. He could see that she was torn up a bit, but to an extent that only he could tell. Luckily, she was a good actress when she needed to be.

Everyone went silent as the wedding march song began to play around and they turned to the beginning of the aisle. Dinah Lance stood there, dressed in a fitted silk white dress, complementing her body. Her father, a nice man around the age of sixty, stood by her side and she took his elbow, starting to walk towards the arch with him. Diana and all of the guests but one had their eyes pinned on the stunning bride; Bruce, though, had turned his attention to the groom. Something about Alfred's monologue had made him curious, so he turned to see the man of the day.

Ollie had the goofiest of smiles on his face. He wouldn't take his eyes off the woman in the long, white dress, as she wouldn't either. He was about to start giggling and struggled hard to keep as much of a straight face as possible. His eyes were shining and he seemed to be…radiating indeed; he was looking, after all, at the person he decided to spend his life with and who wanted to spend hers with him too.

Bruce's gaze traveled from the groom to Diana, who had turned around to watch Dinah make her march. Her blue eyes were wide as ever and a small smile was decorating her lips. Bruce would pay enough to know what she thought of at the moment; whether she made happy thoughts or sad ones. He knew he had absolutely no right whatsoever to be entitled to her thoughts, but couldn't help but being curious.

Dinah reached Oliver, kissed her father goodbye and took her soon-to-be-husband's hand to climb the stairs of the arch. Once she was standing next to the groom, the priest opened his little black book and the ceremony began.

OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO

Diana was emotionally charged enough to be the first one to go for the wine bottle at their table. The wedding reception was held at a special center near the park, suitable for such occasions. The married couple and their families were sitting at a long table in the front and their guests were placed in round tables around the room.

She opened it and poured some of the dry wine in her glass, asking if anyone else at her table wanted some. They all passed, for now, so she shrugged and proceeded with drinking her wine. Barry, on her right side, couldn't help but being ecstatic, as he had spotted the bride's sister earlier on and couldn't wait to go ask her for a dance, and J'onn on her left side seemed to be quite moved with the ceremony. Bruce was seated right across her on the table and watched her closely, minding not to let anyone notice he was doing so.

After the entrees were served, a slow, sweet song started playing and the groom led the bride to the dancing place to dance. Diana suddenly turned her eyes to Bruce, to find him looking her way, naturally. She looked at him intensely and then turned her eyes to the swaying couple again. Bruce didn't know what to make of that look; was it a look-at-what-you-did look? Was it an I-will-get-you-back look? Was it an honestly sad look? He couldn't understand.

"Okay, Dee, here's what we'll do." Barry told Diana as the dance was coming to its end. "Soon they'll be done with their wed dance, so that means only one thing."

"What?" Diana asked.

"That everyone can now go and dance, duh! I can't go to the sister just yet, so I'll just take you for the first dance. She will be on the dancefloor as well, I mean, there's no way no one will ask her to dance, and when the first song ends, I'll go and ask her then. No one can catch her before me, 'cause there's just no one quicker than me, of course. Okay? You got it?"

"Yes, fine."

"Perfect, thanks!" He said, grinning widely and giving her a peck on the cheek.

Dinah and Oliver stopped dancing and they clapped for them as they recovered their seats. Another song started playing.

"Come, come!" Barry said getting up and dragging Diana along. She sighed and followed him. He placed both hands on her waist, so she let hers on his shoulders and started making circles around. Barry had a silly smile on his face, turning them around a little too often to take a look at his 'target'. He had been correct, as one of the relatives-they guessed an uncle-had taken her to the dancefloor. The song was rather short, so the dance didn't last that long. Barry bowed slightly when it ended and was soon on to Dinah's sister.

Diana felt strangely embarrassed when Barry left her. She was standing all alone, with no partner, in the middle of the dancing space. She was about to leave, when someone cleared his throat behind her. She turned around to see a tall man, with rich, blond hair and honey eyes, grinning at her; Booster Gold, or Michael Jon Carter.

"Hello, Michael." She said, frowning a little.

"Hey… Care for a dance?" Before she could actually agree, he had taken her by the waist and led her amidst the rest of the dancing couples. "Been a long time since we last had a chat, Princess!" He said, wearing his notorious smile.

"Indeed. How are you?"

"Very well, and now that I'm dancing with you, even better!" Diana giggled a bit. "If I may, you look dashing tonight!"

"Thank you."

"We never get any missions together though." He said, pouting jokingly. "I think I might complain to J'onn. All I get to work with are Hawk and Dove!"

"They're both valiant warriors."

"Sure but I bet you're even more…valiant."

Diana simply grinned.

Back at the table, Clark huffed a bit, uncrossing his legs.

"What is he telling her?" Bruce asked, knowing his friend's superhearing was probably focused on Booster's and Diana's conversation.

"Something about breakfast on Sunday." Clark replied, giving him a playful look. "Curious much?" Bruce simply looked at him sternly and Clark turned his look back at the dancing.

"What did she say?" Bruce couldn't help but ask.

"Now wouldn't that be gossiping?" Clark said, grinning.

"Clark."

"She avoided giving a straight answer." The Kryptonian replied, rolling his eyes.

"Prince Charming over there is getting a little too intrusive." Bruce stated, frowning deeply. He didn't like what was happening the least bit. He knew he had absolutely no say in Diana's private matters as it was, but he couldn't help but feel…jealous was the perfect way to describe it. Angry, sad and possessive at the same time. He knew he should let Diana move on-even though he really didn't find Booster Gold the right person for that-but it seemed like he wasn't even remotely close to ready to watch her move on. For one last time, he thought, he would allow himself to indulge to his impulses and stop what was happening. Then he would never interfere again, for her sake. So he stood up and let all kinds of second thoughts behind. "Don't eavesdrop." He told Clark, who huffed again.

Michael Carter was going to initiate a second dance if he hadn't felt a tap on his back.

"Can anyone else dance with the lady?" Bruce told him, making clear that it wasn't a question. Michael half-smiled.

"Yeah, sure. I'll come again, Princess!" He said, winking at Diana, and left.

"You didn't ask if the lady _wants_ to dance with anyone else." Diana stated, giving him an angered look.

"Well, does she?" Bruce asked, stretching his hand to her and putting on his usual smile for her. She looked frozen, though; stiff shoulders, stable feet, deep frown and agitated eyes. "Come on. Just this dance again."

"What do you want?" She said, very hesitantly stretching her hand out.

Bruce almost snatched it and drew her closer. "To dance with you." Diana felt as if she had stricken a defensive pose, so he put his other hand on her waist and she relaxed a little. Her hand crawled up his shoulder and he soon led their dance as dulcifluously as ever. The furious look never left her eyes though.

"What do you _really _want?" She asked again, between turn-arounds.

Bruce wished he could tell her. He wished he could just forget about everything and express his true feelings in the best way he could. But no. Not if he cared about her wellbeing. He knew better than that.

"To enjoy this dance." He simply stated, making Diana twirl. As her hair flowed around her, he inhaled deeply, taking in her captivating scent.

"Do you think I'm a toy?" She asked, having an even more angered look altering her facial characteristics.

"No?" Bruce replied, confused.

"Then why are you doing this? Why are you coming to me again?"

"What d-"

"You think you can play with me? Throw me away the one day and expect me to be there for you to play the other?"

"Never have I-"

"Because that's what you're doing! You know how I feel about you, and even though you don't feel the same, you still drag me closer to you, as if you can't understand that it hurts me!"

"I never meant to hurt you." Bruce said, leading them between the other dancers with long strides.

"Oh, you didn't? Too bad." Her eyes were somewhat watery and the sight, Bruce figured, was disturbing; he hated seeing her sad. Absolutely hated it.

Bruce didn't say anything; he decided to remain silent. Diana took in a deep breath and let her face relax, because if she went on with ranting, she would be in tears soon, and saying more things than she wanted to. It was just a silly dance. She could pull it through.

She really wanted to turn her look elsewhere, but she found herself engaged into a very, very long lock-of-eyes with her current dancing partner. And then came all the crushing questions again, because there was that damn look again. The look that told her that she was special, even though she knew she was not; the look that she'd like to be the last thing she ever saw, if she could have any say on that. Why did everything have to be so painful? She wanted to cry again, let it all out and vent. She wanted to get over him, get over everything that had happened, but he made it even more difficult than it already was. She thought she had made some progress during the last days, but he came and trampled everything, with just a mere, stupid, pathetic dance.

As the music came to a climax, Bruce put both of his hands on her waist and pushed her up. She supported her hands on his broad shoulders, as he held her up and they turned and turned and turned around.

Bruce just couldn't take his eyes off her and her beautiful face among a sea of twirling lights. It was one of the best things he had ever seen, so he made sure to relish the moment, as he knew he'd probably never have another one of these. He put her down and they continued swaying for the last notes of the song, none of them saying anything. When the song came to an end, she withdrew her hands and turned to walk away.

"Please don't cross me off your life." Bruce whispered, not knowing whether he wanted her to hear him or not.

Diana stopped walking and froze momentarily. She had perfectly heard what he had mumbled, and she had no answer for him. She gave him one last look and drifted away.

OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO

When Bruce got home, he had no appetite for anything. He wasn't sleepy, of course, as it was quite early in the night for him to sleep, but not very keen on doing anything 'heroic' for the night. Alfred was sitting in front of his favorite TV again, watching what appeared to be a…children's movie.

"Had fun, sir?" He asked, as he typically did.

"It was okay. What are you watching?"

"I was shuffling through Miss Gordon's old movie collection when tidying up the shelves and, out of pure curiosity, I assure you, put one to see what it's like. It is rather enjoyable, really. Would you care to join me?"

"I don't think so, Alfred."

"Too bad. It's a nice film about two superheroes having their own cute family while battling evil. Truly interesting! It's called 'The Incredibles', if I'm not mistaken."

"I'm not interested, Alfred."

"Very well, sir."

Bruce went down in the Bat Cave, thinking he would find something to keep him busy. Analyzing Grodd's weapon had gone well and he was very close to finishing it up. He worked for about two hours, until he realized that he was starting to get hungry, so he went back up again.

Alfred waited to hear the footsteps, no matter how silent they were, and pressed the 'play' button.

"What is this, another children movie, Alfred?" Bruce asked when he saw the butler watching a different animated movie.

"Why, they are truly captivating, sir! This one is 'Mulan', it's about a woman saving her nation. Her General, who is in love with her but can't admit it for social and personal reasons, has now met the Emperor. Here, look!"

Bruce frowned at his butler's weird behavior but took a look at the screen. The man-he guessed was the General- asked "Sir?" and the Emperor replied with a "You don't meet a girl like that every dynasty!"

"Oh, how wise is the Emperor…" Alfred said. Bruce shook his head and exited the room.

Alfred knew his not-so-subtle hints hadn't gone unnoticed.

***Here's the chapter then! Re-edited for fixing some typos and loss of words at times. Sorry if I missed anything again."**


	7. Chapter 7

***A/N: So… I haven't received any feedback on the last two chapters at all… **** I'm just going to suppose you all felt 'Eh' when reading it and keep going, 'cause I really want to finish this fic. Again, please, please, please, leave me a tiny review. It will only take ten seconds and I really want to know how you found it. Anyway, happy reading!***

**CHAPTER SEVEN**

Bruce hardly ever had any dreams. Most of the times, he saw himself running in the dark and hearing a scary laugh here or there or he'd recreate the scene of his parents' shooting. That night, though, was different.

Everything was black and white. He was in his formal black tuxedo, holding a bouquet of flowers in his hands. He turned around to see that he was standing where Oliver was standing some hours ago. On the front row of the seats, his parents were sitting, dressed for the occasion. He felt as if he wanted to say many things, but his dream-self simply went on with observing the guests. The wedding march song echoed around and the bride started walking on the aisle. She had no father by her side, but walked proudly on her own. The veil was way too thick for him to see her face but watching her, he felt oddly tranquil and happy. He turned his gaze towards his father. The man had a smile full of content on his face and was looking directly at Bruce, nodding in approval. He turned to see the bride for a split second, then turned to Bruce again and said "You don't meet a girl like that every dynasty." As the bride approached, Bruce turned to her as she ascended the stairs. Once she was next to him, he handed her the bouquet and held her hand, helping her remove the veil.

They removed the veil and everything suddenly got colorful. It was Diana underneath, naturally, but not happy or radiant as one would expect a bride to be. She was looking at him, angry and full of tears. Her jaw was shaking, her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes were red, as tears were streaming down. Every tear that fell on the bouquet turned the white lily it touched black. And she kept looking at him, saying nothing. Bruce lifted his hand to caress her cheek but she slapped it away, growling. The tears that now fell on her dress left dark, blood-like spots on it.

"Diana, what's wrong?" He said.

"Everything's wrong!" She shrieked, throwing the bouquet down and turning to run away. Bruce chased her, but she was quick. She was holding her dress to run without tripping and it flowed all around her. Bruce could see that the burgundy spots were now expanding, leaving clear stains, that were getting wider and wider as she ran. In horror, he watched as almost all of her dress was getting soaked in her blood. He shouted after her, but she wouldn't stop. Suddenly, she came to a halt, and so did he, a couple of meters behind. She turned to face him and looked him dead in the eye for some moments. She appeared as if she had been stabbed everywhere and the tears that were running down her cheeks, though scarce, were blood-like too and left their marks on her face before falling off her chin.

"_You_ are doing this to yourself." She stated in a crazily calm voice, before her face turned into a mask of agony and she folded in half in pain, falling to the ground. Bruce dived to get to her but got caught up in a black whirlwind. When the whirlwind stopped, he was watching his reflection on a window. He wasn't young; he saw the miserable face of his older self, the one he had the pleasure to meet in a time-traveling mission some years ago. He turned his look to his wrinkled hands, only to see that he was caressing the petals of some black, dried-up lilies.

He woke up with a gasp, lifting his torso up and breathing erratically. He was sweating heavily and couldn't seem to grasp what he had just seen. Instinctively, he threw his bed sheet off himself and –not even bothering grabbing a robe- went straight for the Bat Cave. He accessed the League's tracking system and saw Diana's spot shining at the Base. He sighed, letting his head fall in his hands and getting his mind together. What was that dream? There were so many things going on; his parents, the wedding, bloody Diana, his older self… For one moment he pondered looking dream interpretations up on the Internet, but scolded himself for even thinking of something so…silly. Yet, he couldn't stop thinking about how all that must have had a certain meaning. Dreams, after all, are often projections of the subject's subconscious; desires, fears, experiences, random things that stuck to it and many more that were yet to be explored.

He sat back and closed his eyes, deciding to take everything one by one and explain it. The clearest of them all was the marriage to Diana. Although he was far from wanting to get married, he could understand that his subconscious, triggered by the wedding he had attended, shaped his affection towards Diana into a marriage. His parents, then. He thought that maybe he…wanted them to be present to an important day of his life? He couldn't exactly place it. His father, though, seemed to be very happy of his choice of companion, phrasing something he had seen in Alfred's movies. Seeing his father like that had really troubled, although not as much as the image of Diana bleeding out. That had actually terrified him. It was, he supposed, metaphorical; she was bleeding mentally, hurting. Even though he could understand why she was hurting, the image of her bloody tears and bloody wedding dress as she fell down seemed to linger in his mind too much. Moving on to his older self, he could only interpret it as his prediction and self-induced curse that he will end up old and alone, living a loveless life, mourning over what he could have had.

Many crushing emotions were starting to crawl up inside him, but he pushed them away when the Bat Cave's door opened and Alfred entered.

"It's six in the morning, sir. You never wake up at six when you go to sleep by two. Had a nightmare, maybe?" He asked, descending the stairs.

"You could say so." Bruce simply replied, rubbing his eyes.

Alfred left a silk robe on his workstation. "Care to tell me what it was about?"

"No need to."

"Very well. Shall I bring you your breakfast or will you head up to bed again?"

"Bring it."

"As you wish, sir."

"Wait. I think I'll have it upstairs."

Alfred nodded and they got up to the kitchen together. Bruce took a seat at the table, always frowning deeply, and supported his head on his left hand.

"Anything troubling you in particular, sir?" Alfred asked, placing some croissants on a porcelain plate, always keeping an eye on Bruce.

Bruce thought about not telling Alfred anything but Alfred was the only one who could answer some things for him, and always seemed to know what to say. And, in the end, if he couldn't trust Alfred, who could he trust? "Do you think my parents would have wanted me to…you know, get married and…?" Bruce asked in a low voice, his gaze unfocused.

"Your parents, sir, would have wanted nothing but you to be happy. If that is with someone else, of course they would have wanted you to find that _someone._"

"And what kind of someone would they describe as ideal? What kind of daughter-in-law would they want, per say?" Bruce was surprised at the questions that had suddenly popped up in his head. It wasn't like his usual self to wonder about things like these, but something about that dream had triggered them.

"Anyone you fancy, I suppose, they would accept. Now, if they could 'order' one for you, I bet your mother would have picked a woman who knows how to be classy and knows your habits well. Your father, sir…Hm." Alfred thought for a moment. "He would have wanted someone feisty and dynamic. He always liked women like that. At least that's what I think, of course."

Bruce nodded. As it seemed, Diana would have fitted all of the parental criteria. Not that it mattered, but he needed to explain why his father had nodded in approval in his dream. The image of Diana's face before she said that he was doing this to himself popped up in his head again and he cringed. It was deeply disturbing.

His mind drifted to the time he had met his older self. He hadn't mentioned anything about Diana, but he probably knew better than to interfere with the time and space continuum with giving hints about anything. He did remember, though, they way his older self looked at her; like a poor man stumbling upon a long-lost diamond. His look was a mix of nostalgia, surprise and adoration. Bruce couldn't tell if it was because he had enjoyed his life with her and missed her, or because he just couldn't forget about her even after all these years. When she vanished because the past also changed and Bruce had jumped to get her, old Bruce did flinch. He betted, though, that he would have jumped as well if his body had allowed it. Bruce remembered, then, that since they fixed what had happened, the future had probably changed, so nothing of that ever happened and he had to make his own future now.

Alfred placed his usual breakfast tray in front of him and took a seat next to him, holding a small cup of English tea.

"How come you asked these things, master Bruce?" Alfred asked. "Was it your dream?" Bruce nodded. "Well, I am no expert, of course, but I do know that dreams this intense shouldn't usually be ignored. I know that most of the times, we see what we fear, or what we want, or even both simultaneously, and there are also cases of prophetic dreams."

"Come on, Alfred."

"I know it may sound stupid, sir, but many people have experienced such dreams. Even your own mother."

That sparked Bruce's interest. "What with my mother?"

"She never let a dream go unnoticed. Once, she woke up and told me that she had seen a bad dream with a fish and had an unpleasant feeling about it. She urged your father to be very, very careful that day and you know what happened?"

"Tell me."

"There was, indeed, an accident when your father was coming home, and he would have gotten caught up in it as well, if he hadn't urged the driver to drive extra slowly too."

"I see."

"She also had a bad dream on…_the day_ as well…"

"Oh." Bruce said, sipping some of his coffee.

"So, we see, Master Bruce, that sometimes your dreams warn you about something that you can change, or simply give you notice of something you can't escape. Of course, most of the times they are irrelevant with anything, I must admit, but who knows how to tell the cases apart."

Bruce nodded again, finishing up his breakfast and leaving to go to the Bat Cave a little more confused than when he left it.

***A small chapter to see how Bruce's inner self copes with everything… Apparently not so well. What will he do then? It remains to be seen. **

**Please, kind readers, do not leave my in the darkness! *dramatic voice* Give me something to know how you liked/disliked it. Thanks for reading so far!***


	8. Chapter 8

***A/N: So, um, wow, I received so many reviews together that I couldn't believe it was actually happening. I'm very grateful to each and every one who took the time to write something for me. Thank you for your encouraging words, I hope you'll enjoy this whole fanfic by the end of it.**

**I also changed the category as you pointed out. Thanks for telling me. Happy reading!***

**CHAPTER EIGHT**

It had been two days since Bruce had had that weird dream, and yet he couldn't stop thinking about it sometimes. He hadn't seen Diana during these days as well, but always checked on her signal, just to be sure. To be sure about what? He wondered. That she was still…alive? That she was still at the League? That she hadn't left them for good? He couldn't tell.

He scolded himself, though, for having such questions. As if Diana would ever abandon her fight for peace and equality and justice just because he had 'rejected' her; or, more likely, because he didn't have the guts to tell her the truth, his truth. He had been thinking that maybe the reasons he thought were the ones he told her he didn't have someone special, weren't those after all. Was he really worrying so much about her safety? Yes. But was that it? What if he was just afraid that he would make her miserable, or that maybe he wasn't enough for her? What if he was just a…coward? Because she had the courage to admit to her feelings, disregarding the dangers of the life they were living, but he didn't.

Letting a small sigh escape his lips, he got out of his jet and entered the League's Base. He had submitted his Grodd's weapon analysis two days ago and got busy with some Gotham affairs. He had heard, though, that Grodd had been handled by the League, not so easily, but effectively, still. He had wanted to check the details of the mission, but got carried away with other missions and forgot to do so. It wasn't like his mind was at his best shape those days. Arriving at the main mission room, he found J'onn at his usual position and several other heroes walking around. Nightwing spotted him and approached him.

"Handled the Gotham thingy?" Dick asked.

"Yes. How's it going on here?"

Nightwing shrugged. "Same old, same old. Bad guys show up, good guys beat them down. The circle of life." He grinned playfully.

"Tell me about Grodd."

"Hm. Your weapon assessment was rather accurate. Technology from Apokolips was indeed their inspiration for the teleportating ray, but their blueprints on it must have been quite hastily designed. It needs many hours to charge and can only act once with that amount of energy. If they had done some adjustments, they would have made it better, but I guess they didn't have the time to perfect it. Apokolips weapon tidbits were found in their hideout."

"So we're talking about a much larger criminal association than we thought."

"Probably, but taking out Grodd and the Gorilla department was a huge feat. They were so many of them in there, Batman. I don't know how the heroes did it, honestly."

"That's why they're heroes."

"Of course, but it wasn't without cost. Most of them will be out of duty for at least three days; J'onn's orders. They need to recover after all that."

"Have replacements been summoned?"

"Naturally. I have been working on tracking down Leaguers on leave, for their immediate return."

"Good work."

"Thanks. Now, if you don't mind, I must finish this off and leave."

Bruce nodded and Dick was off to his computer again. He would have lingered around the main room for a little longer, if a certain small thought hadn't managed to crawl inside his mind. Diana's tracking spot had been at the Base for a solid day without any change. Normally, even if she was positioned for Base duty, she would have patrolled around in her jet, but her spot hadn't moved the least bit. That made him a little uneasy.

He left the main room and headed for the Base's hospital ward. The automatic doors opened when he stood in front of them and he entered the quiet, sterile room. Many Leaguers were on the beds, indeed, most of them sleeping. He recognized Booster Gold, Rocket, Wildcat, Orion and Fire. Walking a bit further, he confirmed his earlier suspicions. Placed on a bed separated with a curtain from the rest was Wonder Woman. He needed only to see her back and her hair to know it was her and to speed up his pace to get to her compartment.

The first thing he did was to check her medical stats. He removed the patient sheet from the front side of her bed and read it. She had several bruises, a small rib fracture, some deep scratches that were sewed up, and a ray-induced first and second degree burn on the right side of her back. He had noticed the burn patches before indeed. He supposed they had applied some special pigment on it and changed the tissues regularly. She had had worse, he thought. Under her stats, J'onn had handwritten 'Sedated to keep her from getting up'. Bruce huffed. How very like Diana to ignore her situation in order to go fight. He placed the sheet where it belonged and moved to the right side of the bed to see her more clearly. Careful to be as light-handed as possible, he pushed some of her hair strands out of her face and placed them behind her ear. Her neck had two long scratches and her lower lip was slightly cut open on the left side, but she looked as beautiful as ever, no matter how disheveled she was.

Dragging a chair to her bedside, he sat on it and crossed his legs. He was relieved that she was alright, or going to be alright, at least. He wished he could have been there to help them out. Maybe if he had, she wouldn't have been sedated in the hospital ward now. Well, he thought, even though he wasn't, they pulled it through nicely and they would all be well and ready to perform their duties again in some days.

She was so strong, he pondered. Truly one of the few people he shouldn't be worried about getting seriously hurt, even though he did. Well, that was the life they had chosen; they were all aware that they were going to put their lives on the line every day when they joined the League. She knew it, he knew it, everybody knew it. Yet, he couldn't seem to allow himself to enjoy his life as it was. He had every right to, but just couldn't. It was the fear of her getting hurt because of him that held him from going for it. It was very clear to him now that he wouldn't be able to live with himself if she had gotten hurt because of him, in any way. He doubted that he could make her happy, too, and yet she always seemed to believe so. How did a woman so wonderful fell for someone like him? Someone so obsessed with his issues, someone so consumed in his brooding? He didn't know and wouldn't invest time in thinking about it either. He had long ago figured that matters of the heart were impossible to explain.

He removed his mask and laid back on the chair, watching her closely. She deserved to be happy, she deserved to be with someone worthy of her. Who was worthy of her, though? He didn't know and couldn't think of anyone. He sighed and turned his head to the left, catching a look of his reflection on the window. His mind, naturally, brought the image from his dream up. His older self had looked so miserable and so angry. Was that how he was going to end up? Possibly. Did he really want to end up like that? No. No, he didn't. Was he going to do anything about it? He didn't know.

He turned his look towards Diana again, and a tiny smirk appeared on his lips. "What is it that you always say?" He said in a low voice, as if he was talking to her. "Hera help me? Then, Hera! Help me!" He huffed and leaned a little to the front. "Then eho ee-thea ti na kano mazi soo." (A/N: Translation: I have no idea what to do with you.) He spoke in Greek, just in case anyone was awake and could hear him. His pronunciation wasn't anywhere near as good as hers, but it felt more intimate. Something only she and he could understand. "Then ise i moni poo pona-ee." (A/N: Translation: You are not the only one who's hurting.)

With that, he got up, put his mask on again, stroked her hair kindly and exited the ward, nodding at anyone happening to be awake. By the time he was out of the room, Diana lazily opened her eyes. Her eyelids felt heavy as if they were made from lead. She did recognize, though, the hospital room and remembered that she was to stay there for her wounds to mend. She frowned, as she felt the sharp sting of a headache and closed her eyes again. A certain Greek phrase said by an all-too-familiar voice echoed around her mind, and she wondered if it came from a dream, even though she didn't recall having any. Tiredly, she reopened her eyes. A chair was placed next to her bedside so she supposed she had a guest while she was sleeping. Traces of a certain scent filled her nostrils and she wondered if he had indeed come to see her, although she still doubted it. Her mind had been playing some nasty tricks on her during the last three days, this could easily be one of those.

With much effort, she pulled herself up and slowly let her back rest on the pillows, as the burn stung a bit. Her gaze returned to the chair again and she frowned. Had he really come? Why? _Because he has a colleague interest in you, Diana, of course, _an ironic voice replied in her head. Maybe he was acting out of guilt, Diana thought and curled her fists. She hadn't done a very good job in hiding her discontent whenever he was around, so he had probably seen that her emotional state wasn't perfect and he felt responsible for it; not that he wasn't, but she didn't want anyone to...pity her. However, that was not it. Batman didn't act on guilt, so it must have been something else.

"You're not the only one who's hurting!" She whispered after the voice in her head and laughed, shaking her head. Yes she was, but she was going to deal with it.

Diana decided that she needed to…mature a bit. She had to be able to contain her feelings and see Bruce as a…colleague too. A friend maybe, as well, but not as how she'd like. She sighed. It wasn't going to be an easy task, and she definitely wasn't going to pull it off if they kept interacting almost every day, because every time she saw him, her affectionate feelings woke up again and she didn't want to cry anymore. It was wearing her down. A blunt pain in her ribcage gave her an idea. Maybe her traumas were a blessing in disguise. J'onn had insisted that she needed to take several days off brawling and League duties, so she could just use them to take the break she so much needed. Achingly, she raised her hand and pushed the button on the wall over her head. A few moments later, J'onn emerged through the floor and materialized in front of her bed.

"You called, Diana?"

"Yes."

"How are you feeling?"

"I've been better."

"If you want to get up and go on a mission, I will sedate you again." J'onn said in his monotone voice.

"No, this is not it. Quite the contrary, actually."

"Please go on."

"I was thinking that maybe I could retreat to Themyscira for some days. You know, till I get better. I've missed my homeland and the Amazons."

"If you promise not to engage in any athletic activities, I don't see any reason for you not to go."

"I will not, I assure you."

"Honestly, Princess. You cannot jeopardize your recovery with any battling."

"Yes, J'onn, I promise. You can trust me. I just need to know if I can take the days off. Are there any replacements available?"

"Nightwing is contacting members on leave to replace all of you for the days you will need to fully recover. Worry not."

"Thank you. I will depart tomorrow."

"Very well. I was just about to make the new schedules for the week. I will include you in nothing."

"Isn't a week too much? Won't I be needed-"

"A week is the least I can give you for your recovery. Spend it on your island."

Diana nodded. "Thank you, J'onn."

"I will give you instructions on what to do for your wounds and the necessary pigments tomorrow."

"Yes, okay."

The Martian nodded back at her and left the way he came. Diana carefully grabbed the phone from the night -table and dialed a number.

"_Wayne Manor, who am I speaking with?"_ Alfred's voice said.

"Hi, Alfred. It's me, Diana."

"_Good evening, Princess. To what do I owe the pleasure of your phone call?"_

"I just wanted to know if everything is alright."

"_I'm quite certain, yes. Is there anything that worries you?"_

"No, it's just that I'll be leaving for my homeland tomorrow and other heroes will be called to fill in my and other heroes' duties, so Bruce might not be at home most of the times, and I wanted to know if you needed anything or maybe I can help with something or-"

"_No, no, Princess. Everything is in order, and everything will be in order during your leave, rest assured. Thank you for worrying about us. Are you alright, though?"_

"Yes, why are you asking?"

"_The call recognition program shows a different number than your usual one. Are you not at your chambers?"_

"Um, no, I currently am at the hospital ward."

"_Oh, my. I hope it is nothing serious, Princess."_

"Nothing I can't overcome, Alfred. I will recover soon, fear not."

"_It's good to hear that. Has Master Bruce paid you a visit during your hospitalization?"_

Alfred always asked the big questions, Diana thought and smiled to herself. "I do not know, as, you see, I was sedated up until now."

"_Oh. How long will you be gone, if I may ask?"_

"About a week. It will…do me good. The trip. I need to clear my head a bit."

"_Of course. I understand. Well, I wish you a quick recovery and thank you, again, for your kind concern."_

"Don't mention it, Alfred."

"_Goodbye, then, Princess."_

"Bye, Alfred."

They hung up and Diana let her head fall back on her pillows, allowing herself some more hours of sleep.

Back at the Manor, Alfred almost slammed the phone on its charging base. This had gone too far. He needed to take immediate and effective action now, or else it would be too late. Putting his book down, he went for the leisure room, to search through the CD collection. There, he found Dick Grayson in just a pair of tracksuit pants, playing a videogame. He had stopped wondering from where he entered the Manor each time a long time ago.

"Hey, Alfred!" He greeted, not taking his eyes off his screen.

"Good evening." Alfred said. "I need to ask you a favor."

Alfred's voice was too serious for Dick to keep playing, so he paused his game and turned to face the butler. "What is it, Alfred?"

"Master Bruce will be taking some days off work and I need to know if you can cover his position."

"He didn't tell me anything back at the Base…"

"Because he doesn't know he's leaving, yet."

Dick arched an eyebrow. What did the resourceful butler have in mind now? "Will he be going on some… _royal _vacations?"

"Yes." Alfred replied, noticing Dick's stress of the word 'royal'.

"To see an ancient _Greek _tragedy, I suppose?"

"Yes, yes." The butler urged. "Now can you cover for him?"

Dick shrugged. "If it's for _that_, I guess I can."

"Thank you."

Dick smirked and turned to his game again. "I can't wait to see what's brewing on that amazing head of yours, Alfred!"

Alfred half-smiled to himself, stroking his moustache and going over their music collection. He knew they had that record somewhere…

***A/N: The next chapter will be more intense, I promise. Thanks for reading so far, and please, as always, leave a small comment on how you found it. I'll try to update as soon as I can! Also, sorry for any typos or missing words I didn't notice were…missing :P***


	9. Chapter 9

***A/N: Hey there readers! Once again, I'd like to thank all of you for reading this and for favoriting/following/reviewing! *big hug to all of you***

**There was a problem yesterday, as chapter 5 and 8 got mixed up-I have no idea why- but I fixed it. I also tried updating chapter 8 to correct some grammar mistakes and typos but it doesn't seem to get updated and I'll try again later. If you see problems like these, please notify me. (thank you, guy/gal who told me about the mix-up)**

**I have also been facing some trouble with my computer and I will need to take it to be checked, so I probably won't be able to update for some days.**

**I also used a small song for this chapter… Here's a link, in case you feel like listening to it:** watch?v=S4kzGhDEURA

**Closing this long A.N., I hope you'll enjoy this chapter!***

**CHAPTER NINE**

Diana found herself being ecstatic upon seeing her homeland's sea's blue color. Nothing in the world had such a beautiful shade of blue and she was so happy to see it again.

The flight had been long and quite uncomfortable, since her movements were confined due to the rib fracture, and she couldn't really fall back on her chair as much as she'd like to, because the burn hurt whenever she did. However, none of that mattered, as she was finally there and she would get to see her mother and the Amazons again. Although their relationship had had its ups and downs, it was clear now that Diana was welcome in Themyscira and there wouldn't be any trouble with her stay. She had once been an exile, but the Amazons and the Justice League had needed each other several times since then, so the Amazon Queen and the Amazons were willing to make an exception to the law for her.

She landed her jet on a flat-topped rocky hill near the seashore and descended, carrying the few belongings she needed. When the Amazons nearby saw her, they all came running to hug her but soon realized that that was painful to her, so they just greeted her verbally instead. Diana was glad to see her sisters so lively and active. They accompanied her to the main city, where she took a moment to gaze upon the city she had very dearly missed, and went on with walking towards the Palace. The Amazons bowed slightly at her and left. Diana ascended the stairs slowly, allowing herself to remember all of the memories she had from when she was growing up in that place. She pushed the doors open and entered, smiling widely upon seeing her mother.

Hippolyta's eyes widened when she saw her daughter coming though the doors; it had been so many months since they last saw each other. She nearly jumped off her throne and ran towards her daughter, wrapping her hands around her. Diana smiled but stiffened and Hippolyta stopped hugging her, as she realized that several parts of her were wrapped in gauze.

(A.N.: Imagine that all of the dialogues between Hippolyta, Diana and the Amazons are conducted in Greek. I could write them in 'Greek', but that wouldn't be too nice to read, would it? :P)

"My daughter!" Hippolyta exclaimed. "Are you well?"

"Yes, mother."

"You're injured, my child."

"I will recover, fear not."

"Why are you here, Diana?"

"I had some days off League duty and I wanted to visit my island. I can stay, can't I?"

"Yes, you can." Hippolyta answered proudly, watching her daughter's face closely. Diana had grown into a mature woman during all the years she had spent in the man's world, defending Earth. She, deep down, felt really proud of her, as she was one of the fiercest warriors of this world, but never lost her Amazonian self.

Something was different this time though. Something was bothering Diana, something was wearing her down. Her daughter was sad, and it was a particular kind of sadness, Hippolyta could tell, as she had been in that state before and, well, a mother always knew. She caressed Diana's cheek.

"My daughter, you came here to forget, didn't you?" Diana sighed and closed her eyes nodding. "Don't worry, child." Hippolyta said, passing her hand gently over her daughter's shoulders. "Let's get you to your chamber and we will mend everything."

Diana smiled sadly and walked along with her mother to her room. It felt good, having someone who understood without having to tell her anything.

OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO

Dwelling at the Bat Cave once again, Bruce was doing his weekly convict scan; he checked whether all of the villains they had caught were still imprisoned or whether there had been troubles or escapes. He had easily gained access to the prisons' archives years ago, so nowadays, he only needed to run a specialized program, which Dick had created, for the scan to be complete in several minutes. As the program kept running through the prisoners' files, he absentmindedly opened the League's tracking program. He had, out of habit, scheduled it to show the Base as its initial screen, as the people he wanted to check on were usually there. He didn't see Diana's mark anywhere around the Base, and he got curious. She was to refrain from any missions, under J'onn's command. Where was she then? He shifted the program to show the global view, and saw her tracker shining somewhere in the Aegean Sea. Zooming in, he confirmed that she was indeed in Themyscira. He accessed the League's files and chose the 'Leave Permits' one. He searched for Wonder Woman and saw that J'onn had indeed permitted her trip, as it combined, he had written, recovery and days of well-deserved and earned vacation.

Bruce didn't know how to feel about that. She was too far away and he knew that it wasn't simply for the sake of her recovery; she would have mended perfectly well while staying at the Base. She wanted to get away. And he understood that. Or at least he tried to.

Back upstairs, Alfred placed the full suitcase in front of the couch of the sitting room. He had woken up more determined than ever to settle the matter once and for all. After half an hour of searching last night, he had finally found the disc with the song he wanted. He couldn't recall where he had heard it for the first time, but he thought that it had amazing lyrics and it was, indeed, quite strong. It wasn't like his usual style in music, but it would work. He pushed the button of the stereo and inserted the disc. He selected the number of the song he wanted and turned the volume very high. As the first notes of the song started playing, he moved towards the piano, and after some lyrics had been sung, he pressed the combination of keys needed to enter the Bat Cave and the door slid open. If he was correct, the song would be perfectly audible from the depths of the Cave.

Bruce expected Alfred to come down after the door was opened, but no one came. Instead, he only heard a song. He thought that Alfred was probably starting to lose some of his hearing, if he really needed the volume to be that high. He shrugged and thought that Alfred would soon realize that the door was open and he'd close it. Yet, the door remained wide open and the music got stronger, strong enough for him to listen to the song clearly.

"_And a thought crosses my mind…If I never wake up in the morning, would she ever doubt the way I feel about her in my heart?" _The singer said and Bruce arched an eyebrow. Why was Alfred listening to this? And… why was Diana popping up in his head all over again?

"_If tomorrow never comes, will she know how much I loved her?"_ The singer continued, moving on to the chorus. Bruce immediately answered his question with a 'no'. She would never know. How would she?

"_Did I try in every way to show her every day that she's my only one?"_ No, he hadn't even tried once to show her that, but… it was complicated. Bruce swallowed and tugged at the collar of his shirt.

"_And if my time on Earth were through, and she must face this world without me, is the love I gave her in the past, gonna be enough to last? If tomorrow never comes?_" No, of course, it wasn't enough. Had he ever given her any? He doubted. For some reason, he was heating up. What was this now anyway?

"'_Cause I've lost love once in my life, who never knew how much I loved them. Now I live with the regret that my true feelings for them never were revealed…"_ The word 'regret' echoed around his head. That was it! That was the look he had seen on his older self in his dream. It was regret, and he knew that living with regrets of lost chances was something people dreaded.

"_So I made a promise to myself, to say each day how much she means to me."_ "Everything!" Bruce answered to the song, grabbing the corners of his desk. He didn't understand why, but he was sweating.

"_And avoid that circumstance where there's no second chance to tell her how I feel."_ No second chance, no second chance, no second chance, his mind kept saying. But what if it was already too late? He jumped off his chair and shook his head. Why was he in such a state of panic? He knew he would end up like that, he had made up his mind that night, at that bar. Had he really, though?

The chorus went on again, and Bruce found himself breathing erratically and sweating. Not knowing what to think or what to do, he decided that it was Alfred's fault that he was in that state. Pushing the chair aside, he started going upstairs.

Alfred had estimated that Bruce would be coming up at some point around the second chorus, so he had moved in front of the stereo and the library, holding a dusting feather. He was correct, as Bruce walked through the Bat Cave's secret door angrily.

"Alfred!" He shouted.

Alfred simply moved even closer the stereo, signaling him to be patient.

"Alfred!" Bruce shouted again. Alfred placed his pointer on his lips, trying to tell him to hush, as the second chorus came to its end and the final lyrics were going to be sung. He pointed upwards, drawing Bruce's attention to the song again.

"_So tell that someone that you love just what you're thinking of, if tomorrow never comes…"_

When the song ended, Alfred turned the stereo off and turned his back to Bruce.

"Alfred!" Bruce urged once more.

"What is it, sir?"

"What was that?"

"What was what, sir?"

"Alfred!" Bruce growled.

"Is there anything wrong, sir? Have I bothered you?"

"Why was the music so high? And why were you listening to that?!"

"Oh, you could hear it?" Alfred asked, turning to face him again and making sure through his facial expression that he knew, of course, that he could hear it. "I must have _accidentally _opened the Bat Cave's entrance when I was dusting the piano. Forgive me, sir."

"What was that song? It doesn't seem like you to pick something like that." Bruce insisted, frowning angrily.

Alfred shrugged. "A little variety, sir, isn't necessarily bad. I find that song to be particularly _enlightening._ But why are you so flushed, master Bruce? Did the song hit a nerve maybe? I apologize." Alfred arched an eyebrow and Bruce's eyes widened.

"What do you want to say, Alfred?" Bruce spoke lowly.

Alfred folded his arms. "What I want to say, sir, is certainly not what you want to hear."

"And how do you know what I want to hear?"

"I should be insulted by that question, master Bruce. Serving you all these years, I've learned some things…"

"Then tell me!" Bruce insisted, walking towards Alfred.

"I want to say, sir, with all due _respect_, that you have messed up, and you know what I am talking about."

Bruce exhaled angrily through his nostrils. He wasn't angry with Alfred. He was angry with himself and about the fact that Alfred was absolutely right, for he had messed up, and he had messed up big time.

"Don't you know why I did it, Alfred?" Bruce asked, sighing and turning his look on the floor.

"I have wondered immensely, sir, but can't seem to find any reasons good enough to turn a person like Princess Diana away."

"It was for her safety." Alfred let a loud laugh escape his mouth. "What was that?!"

"Oh, master Bruce, what safety are you talking about?" The butler asked, still grinning.

"Alfred, I have enemies. What if-"

"Sir." Alfred interrupted him. "You all abandoned your safety for the safety of the world the day you became superheroes. Plus, do you think she's safer without you than she is with you? Seriously?" Bruce gave him a questioning look. "I'm sure you know she's at Themyscira now, even though she didn't tell you. Am I wrong?"

"No, but, how do you know?"

"It doesn't matter. What matters is that she's somewhere far away and you, if you hadn't accessed the League's trackers, wouldn't have known it. She could be fighting someone right now, for all we know. And tell me, master Bruce, how do you make her safer with drawing yourself away from her? When you can be there to protect her? You all have enemies and have sworn to fight them, maybe at the cost of your lives even. You were all aware of the dangers of such a life."

"I know, but-"

"Let me finish, sir." Alfred said sternly, looking straight into Bruce's eyes. "Your life as superheroes is destined to be a hard one. Why on Earth do you insist on making it even more miserable for you and for her? Listen to me very carefully." Bruce eyes widened once again, and Alfred felt as if he was talking to the boy he had practically raised; because he was still a boy to his eyes, and he would do anything to protect him and make him enjoy his life. Alfred spoke very slowly. "You are entitled to some happiness, master Bruce. No one ever said you should spend your life in misery and _regret, _especially when you fight every day to make this world a better place. And if you weren't so lost in your self-pity and your self-loathing, you would have figured this out a long time ago!"

Bruce simply looked at Alfred, standing dumbfounded. He had no words to say, because Alfred was absolutely right and what he had said needed to sink in. Alfred grabbed Bruce's shoulder and spoke again. "Why haven't you chased her?"

"I'm not worthy of her, Alfred. Not now, at least."

Alfred closed his eyes in disappointment and shook his head. "This is the single most idiotic thing I've ever heard you say, _sir. _Love isn't about worthiness, for crying out loud! Wherever have you heard that?!"

Bruce shrugged. "It doesn't matter now either way, Alfred. It's too late to fix anything."

"No, it's not. The Bruce I know doesn't quit so easily."

Bruce frowned and lifted his head up. Alfred was right. He was no quitter. "You're right."

"I know. Now go!" Alfred ran to the suitcase in front of the couch. "Take this and fly to Themyscira and don't come back unless you have something joyful to announce. Nightwing is going to cover for you at the League, I've settled everything."

Bruce smirked and ran to Alfred. The butler expected him to grab the suitcase, but he grabbed him instead. His eyes became watery; he couldn't recall the last time Bruce had hugged him, it had been many years.

"Thank you." Bruce said, letting go of Alfred and grabbing the suitcase. Alfred nodded at him and he went down the stairs again, to his jet.

OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO

Bruce had flown as quickly as the jet went. It was late in the afternoon when he left, and he arrived very early in the morning. He didn't care about finding a good spot to leave his jet, so he landed it just where the shore stopped being too sandy. He got out, leaving his suitcase inside for now. He hadn't managed to take two full steps, when Amazons emerged from his surroundings, pointing their weapons at him. He lifted his hands up, indicating that he was unarmed and had no bad intentions.

"No men are allowed on this island." A ginger Amazon told him.

"I am aware of that, Amazon, but I have been here before, helping you and your Queen out. My name is Bruce Wayne, you most likely remember me as Batman. I come to bring no troubles, I assure you."

"Why have you come, then?" Another Amazon said, pushing her spear closer to him.

"Personal issues. I need to speak with your Princess."

"_No _men are allowed on this island." They repeated.

"Hold it." A strong female voice said from behind Bruce. He turned around and saw Hippolyta riding a white horse and trotting towards him. Once she was close enough, she looked down at him. Her look wasn't friendly but that didn't bring him down.

"Why are you at Themyscira?" She asked, lifting her chin up, but still looking at him.

"To see your daughter." He stated again, folding his arms. "It is important."

"Is Earth in danger?"

"No. This isn't about League business, but that doesn't make it any less important."

Hippolyta took a deep breath and turned to the Amazons. She nodded once and they withdrew their weapons. "Let this man enter our city. The Princess will tell us if he shall be allowed to stay for the day or not. Accompany him inside."

***A/N: Here's another chapter for you, guys! I hope you liked it and thanks for reading on. As you can see, the story will be coming to its end in some chapters, I hope you have enjoyed it this far. I'm sorry for any typos I didn't notice. Please leave me a small review. Thanks in advance.***


	10. Chapter 10

***A.N: Y'all are lucky that the fixing department was closed and I missed it and I still have my computer so I can write this little chapter for you, guys! :D**

**An immense 'thank you' goes to all of the readers, the reviewers, the followers, those who favorited. I wanna squeeze all of you!**

**Anyway, if my beloved computer can be repaired (I will visit the fixing place tomorrow too), I will not be updating for some days. Just wanted to let you know, again. Hope you enjoy this and, as usual, please leave me a small review!***

**CHAPTER TEN**

Diana felt refreshed when she woke up that morning. The sun had just risen and the weather was perfect. She stretched and got up, drawing the curtains of her room to let the sun inside. Carefully, she removed the burn patches, applied some pigment on it and put on a new patch. After she checked the rest of her injuries as well, she grabbed a bluish Hellenic style tunic to wear, fastening a golden plated belt around her waist. She fixed her hair with some golden hair pins and put on her leather sandals. She had missed outfits like that, but living in the modern world now, she had to change the way she dressed. Humming a song, she exited her room and headed for the kitchen. Calliope, their cook, greeted her heartily and gave her a dish with bread, honey and some fruits and a cup of milk.

"I don't suppose you have anyone taking such good care of you out there, eh?" The stout dark-skinned woman said, grinning.

Diana grinned back. "Truth be told, I don't. Most of the days, my breakfast is just plain coffee."

Calliope squinted her eyes, wondering if she had heard that word before. "You need a proper breakfast, Princess. Now eat so that you can heal quickly. It pains me to see your pretty arms wrapped like that."

"It's nothing, my dear Calliope. I get battered like that often."

Calliope shook her head. "Of all the things in the world, you had to be a superhero."

Diana half-smiled, biting some of her honey-covered bread. "Someone's got to take care of this planet."

"It seems like the planet is in very good hands, then!" Calliope said, moving to her side and giving a gentle squeeze to her shoulders.

Diana ate her breakfast happily, leaving none of it on the plate. It had been such a long time since she last ate something from her homeland and, oh, how she had missed home. She dipped her spoon in the honey jar, grabbing a generous amount of it, and quickly put it in her mouth, getting some on her chin. She giggled to herself, remembering all the times she had gotten honey in her hair and Hippolyta had to untangle them afterwards. After washing herself up, she got to the main throne room and exited the palace to reach the central square. The benches of last night's hunting feast were still there, as another one was expected to be held tonight as well.

She descended the stairs and approached a nearby Amazon, sharpening her sword. "Good morning, Andronicke."

"Good morning, Princess." She replied, bowing slightly and going on with the sharpening.

Diana was tempted to ask her to join the day's battle training activities, but J'onn's orders were strict and she had made a promise not to take part in anything athletic or physically demanding. And so, she decided to simply initiate a casual conversation. Just when she was ready to open her mouth, the sounds of many people coming together and a horse clopping filled the square. Diana's and Andronicke's attention turned to the main western road leading to it. Hippolyta riding her horse was the first one to arrive, followed by several Amazons. As they turned to the Palace's side, Diana's eyes widened, as she recognized the figure of the man she wanted to avoid at all costs. He was walking with his hands lifted up, surrounded by Amazons. He wasn't in his superhero costume; he was wearing a pair of simple blue jeans and a white button-down shirt. Why had he come?

Diana jumped up, staring at him. She met his eyes when they were finally getting close to the Palace. His look was unusually gentle and he was…half-smiling? Diana frowned, not knowing what to think of that.

"What is going on, mother?" She asked.

"This outsider came to our island saying he had an important business with you."

Diana crossed her arms over her chest. "What kind of business?"

"Ask him." Hippolyta said, giving her daughter an intense look. This was definitely the man behind Diana's sorrow, she could tell, as she could also tell that he wasn't there with bad intentions. She couldn't interfere, though, so she hoped Diana knew what she wanted to do.

Diana turned her look to Bruce. He was grinning and he looked so rejuvenated. What was that now? "What business do you have with me? Is it about the League?"

Bruce felt amazing with just being able to lay eyes on her. She looked stunning –as always, he thought- and, with nothing holding him back now, as he had finally made his mind up, he allowed himself to enjoy the sight as much as he liked. "No." He replied simply.

"Then why are you here?"

"I need to talk to you."

"Diana," Hippolyta intervened, "you are to decide whether we shall endure his presence on our island or whether he is to be sent away immediately. It will be your decision."

Diana's eyes shifted between her mother and Bruce, her emotions being conflicting. First of all, she was curious; what did he want to say to her, that didn't have to do with the League and was so urgent that he had to fly all the way to Themyscira? She was itching to know, but her pride stopped her from expressing such a desire and urged her to remember what she was there for; to manage her feelings of unrequited affection for the man standing just some meters away from her now. Yet she couldn't fight the strong and persistent urge to…cradle him, for some reason, and had to pull every fiber of self-control she had to say what she did, valuing herself and her wellbeing above anything. How many hits could her dignity and self-respect receive? "Men are not to be allowed on Themyscira." Saying that, she turned to leave.

Hippolyta was surprised at Diana's response, if she wanted to be honest to herself. Even more surprised was Bruce, whose eyebrows shot up and smile vanished. "Very well." The Amazonian Queen said. "Amazons, accompany him to his vessel."

As two Amazons went to tug on his arms, Bruce shouted "Diana!"

Diana, who had begun ascending the stairs, froze in her place. His cry wasn't a scolding one, or a judgmental one; it was _needy_. What was he so desperate about? Her feelings about him became dominant once again, and all she could feel was guilt for turning him away. Her pride battled fiercely with them, though, telling her to keep moving inside, and so Diana found herself in the worst dilemma she had ever had. She was totally torn, with absolutely no idea what to do. Bruce helped her decide, though.

"Perimene, se parakalo..." He told her in Greek, taking Hippolyta and the rest of the Amazons by surprise.

Diana slowly turned back around again. He only spoke in Greek when it was absolutely necessary. So he had deemed it essential to say 'Wait, please...' "Fine, then." Diana said, lifting her chin up and pointing at him. "He shall be allowed on Themyscira _for the day, _unless I decide otherwise. Amazons," she said, making it clear that it was an order, "show him to a guest house _now._"

Two Amazons grabbed him by the arms. "Come." One of them said, and Bruce frowned. He didn't want to be shown to a guest house, he wanted to run to her, right there, right now. He struggled but the Amazons' grip was too tight and he didn't want to use any violence, especially when his position was so precarious.

"I don't want a guest house!" He said loudly.

"Don't you want to experience the hospitality of my people?" Diana said and he sighed, turning his look to the ground. "Take him."

Diana didn't exactly know why she had ordered that to be done immediately, but she knew it was the only thing she could do to buy herself some time, for she wasn't ready to speak to him, and she didn't even know if she wanted to. Her mind was buzzing and she couldn't even hear her own thoughts clearly. When the Amazons and Bruce had left the square, she turned to Andronicke.

"Andronicke, spread the word; not one us is to help him find his way around and find _me, _okay?"

"Yes, but, Princess, if you don't want him to find you, why have you allowed him on the island?"

"It's…complicated! Just don't answer anything he asks. Let him do everything on his own."

Andronicke nodded and Diana flew hastily back inside. She knew she was being childish and immature, but she decided that if he wanted to talk to her so much, he would have to fight enough for it. Otherwise, he could just leave. Besides, his permission to stay was only for a day.

OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO

Diana had done everything in her power to engage in as many diverse activities as possible. She hadn't stayed in one place for more than half an hour, but that resulted in her having practically exhausted her pastime options by the afternoon. She thought about visiting some of the older Amazons around the nearby villages, but she was informed that she was summoned by her mother.

Hippolyta was stoically waiting for her at the throne room. Diana approached her mother with a smile. "You asked to see me, mother?"

"Yes."

The look on her face was peculiar; it had something motherly in it, and something austere too. Diana couldn't really read it. "How can I help you?"

"How can you help yourself, is the question, Diana. What are you doing with our guest?"

"What am I doing with him?"

"Playing hide-and-seek? He has been searching for you all over the city. If you didn't wish to hear him out, you shouldn't have let him reside on the island."

"It's not that I don't want to hear him out, it's just that…" Diana sighed deeply. "It hurts, mother."

Hippolyta drew Diana closer to her, laying her hands on Diana's shoulder. "What if he's here to make the pain go away? Have you thought about that?"

"He is not. He has caused nothing but pain to me during these weeks."

"We might not be the world's most accustomed-to-men race, Diana, but I do know this; men's minds are weird and they do change. They are also usually afraid to express their true sentiments, but when they decide to do so, I know that there aren't many things that they consider obstacles. The man flew to Themyscira, where no men are allowed, just to speak with you. Don't you think that's saying something?"

Diana looked straight into her mother's wise eyes. Could she be right? But what if she was terribly wrong? "I don't know, mother. I really don't. But, aren't you, as the Queen of the Amazons, supposed to keep me away from men?" Diana asked, trying to smile.

Hippolyta grinned back. "Before the Queen of the Amazons, I am your mother, and a mother wants nothing but her child to be happy, no matter what is that which makes them happy."

Diana nodded. "I have to think, mother. If you need me, you know where to find me."

"Very well, my child. Go."

With that, Diana flew outside and headed for her favorite spot on the island.

OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO

Seriously annoyed with the Amazons' conduct, Bruce had decided that it had gotten ridiculous. Diana was to be found nowhere and the Amazons played ignorant, pretending to not have seen her at all. Night was going to fall in an hour or so, and he still hadn't managed to find his Princess. He only had a day, he remembered that, but was hoping to make Diana prolong his visit, and so he took matters into his own hands. He pushed the doors to the throne room open and entered. Hippolyta was seated on the marble throne, holding a book in her hands. Her guards looked at him with hostility.

"What brings you here, _ksene_?" (A.N.: Ksenos-with ksene being the form in which someone calls another person that- means stranger, foreigner, outsider) Hippolyta asked.

"I require your help." Hippolyta arched an eyebrow and he went on. "You need to tell me where Diana is."

"If you give me a good reason, I will help you."

"I made a mistake with Diana. I lied to her. I thought it was to protect her, but I was wrong and for the sake of both of us, I need to speak with her _now_."

"How do I know that you aren't going to hurt my daughter more than you already have?"

Bruce exhaled deeply and looked the Queen straight into her eyes. "Because this all hurts me just as much as her. I never want to see her sad again, not any more than you do, and I promise to try with my everything to never let her be sad again. Is that good enough for you?"

Hippolyta got up and approached him with a few, proud strides. "Don't ever think that I'm doing this for you, Bruce Wayne. I'm only doing this for my daughter." Bruce nodded and Hippolyta turned to the western window of the throne room. "See that hill over there in the distance?"

"Yes."

"Just after that, there's a small cape. It's Diana's favorite spot, she always goes there when she wants to think or relax. You'll find her there."

"Thank you, Hippolyta."

Hippolyta nodded coldly at him and turned to her guards. "Cassiope, find him a horse."

OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO

Diana couldn't get enough of that view. The sun was ready to touch the waterline far into the horizon, as the sky was painted in a plethora of blue, purple, pink, yellow, orange and red colors. She sighed absentmindedly and cradled her knees close to her chest, wrapping her hands around them. Everything felt so tranquil.

She listened to the sound of the waves gently caressing the sides of the cape and the wind breezing through the dense trees. And there, between the sounds of nature, she heard…a song.

***A/N: Duuun duuun duuuun big talk coming up! Don't know when exactly, but definitely coming up! How did you find the chapter? Leave a small comment in the review section! Thanks for reading!:D***


	11. Chapter 11

***Dear readers, thanks once again for all the positive feedback! I appreciate all of your comments.**

**I finally got my baby back and nooow I can write some more, as I don't want to keep you waiting! I tried my best with this chapter, I really really really hope you like it. Please tell me how you found it by the end of it! Happy reading!***

**CHAPTER ELEVEN**

Diana was immensely surprised when she caught up to the sound. Though it wasn't too near, she could definitely hear it. Placing her hands on the ground, she turned her head around and her eyes widened upon seeing Bruce, tying a black steed on a tree, several meters away.

"_Am I blue? Am I blue?"_ He sang, tying up the knot. "_Ain't these tears in your eyes telling you?"_ He gave her a hasty but playful look and Diana's heart started pacing.

"_Am I blue?"_ He continued singing, letting go of the ropes and shrugging. _"You'll be too, if your schemes like your dreams done fell through…"_ He started walking towards her very slowly, pushing his hands in his pockets and pinning his look on the ground.

"_Was a time, I was her only one…"_ He kicked a small rock away, shaking his head and taking a side-step, still keeping his eyes down. His voice was sad and Diana was utterly captivated by his singing tone and emotion. _"Now I am the sad and lonely one, oh, yes I am…"_

"_Was I gay, 'til today?"_ He shrugged subtly again, getting closer_. "Now she's gone and we're through… Am I blue?"_ Diana looked him over from head to toe again and again, her heart beating faster and faster as he approached.

Bruce lifted his eyes from his feet and met hers, widened and sparkling. _"Was a time, I was her only one… Now, I'm the sad and lonely one. I'm such a lonely one…"_ He shook his head lightly, lifting his eyebrows a bit. _"Was I gay, 'til today?"_ He finally reached her spot. Diana's head followed his every movement. _"Now she's gone and we're through…"_ He took a seat on the ground next to her. _"Am I blue?"_ He sang in a low voice, finishing his song.

A few moments passed away in silence, as none of them spoke and Diana turned her gaze on the horizon again, sighing.

"Nice spot you picked, Princess." He said first, placing his elbows on his knees.

"It's nice every hour of the day." She replied, keeping her eyes pinned on the view. "It has a stunning blue color before dark."

"I know, but I've found a more stunning blue than that."

Diana arched an eyebrow and turned to him. "Really? Where?"

"Well," Bruce said, trying to get to the point, "I'm looking at it right now."

Diana's expression changed to a contained surprise and her eyes scanned his face. Could it really be that _look _again? "Thanks?" She said awkwardly.

"I should be thanking you for allowing me to stay on the island."

"Why have you come?" Diana asked sternly.

"Because I needed to speak with you, I told you so, even though you insisted on making it quite hard for me." He arched his eyebrow and half-smiled.

Diana shrugged. "If it hasn't slipped your attention, speaking with you hasn't been on my "love to do" list these days…"

"Of course it hasn't slipped my attention, _but_…"

"But what?" She asked, subconsciously frowning. "I told you that it's still not fine with me, so I think it's reasonable for me to avoid talking to you. I needed time to…brace myself."

Bruce nodded and saw a small glimpse of sadness and bitterness in her face. Who knew how much turmoil she had to endure during these days? He felt so guilty, hurting the one person he should have never hurt. "I… I need to apologize to you." He blurred out quickly.

"Is that why you're here? To…make peace with yourself?" She said monotonously, turning to the sea again.

"No." Bruce stated bluntly. "I need to apologize, but that is not why I'm here, no."

"Then what?"

Bruce sighed. "I'm here to set things straight, because I haven't been honest with you to begin with."

Diana was very intrigued when he heard him say that; what had he been lying about? A small something made her stomach feel uneasy; it was…hope, making a comeback since she had cast it away. Slowly, she turned her gaze back to him with a questioning look. "What have you lied about?"

A small smile appeared on his lips; he couldn't hold it back, not when she was so close to him. He caressed her forearm. "Remember when we were back at that 'Sencia' bar that-"

"Yes, I remember _everything._"

"I said that I didn't have anyone special."

"Yes you did." Diana said, ripping some grass off while clutching her fist.

"Well, I lied about that, because I do."

Diana's hands relaxed and she lifted her eyes to him. They were watering up for some reason she couldn't precisely identify. Was this really happening? "Y-you can't mean m-"

"Who else could I mean?" He said, half-smiling.

Diana's eyebrows shot up and her eyes were wide as never before. An "Oh, mighty Athena…" slipped her mouth without her realizing it and before she could wholly grasp what was happening, Bruce had cupped her face with both of his hand and planted a hasty but strong kiss on her lips. Diana grabbed him from his shirt when he tried to pull back and Bruce half-smiled into the kiss, as she dragged him on. Though it technically wasn't their first, it honestly felt like it. They had no Thanagarians behind their tail, they didn't have to take hasty looks towards the door, they weren't under a global alien invasion. They were just two people in love with each other, sharing an honest and passionate kiss, each taking in how the other one tasted, felt, acted…

And it was much more playful than their last one. Bruce didn't recall her being so active with her lips and her tongue, but he enjoyed it to no end. He ran his fingers through her dense hair and she found the opportunity to run her hands over his chest and snake them around his neck, pulling him even closer. Bruce wondered why on Earth he hadn't done this much sooner but all thoughts of that sort vanished when they pulled away, and he opened his eyes to see her shedding some tears.

Diana's mind was in a state of exploding feelings. That little hope that had made its way inside her, after being confirmed, had made sure to cleanse her head of every single, little, bitter sentiment had clouded it ever since that night. The kiss was better than what she had ever imagined. It was an act that spoke so much. So incredibly much.

"Why, now?" He asked, wiping them away from her cheeks.

Diana giggled somewhat awkwardly, wiping her eyes with the back of her palm. "I'm sorry, it's from the shock. They're...happy tears, nothing to worry about."

"Good." He said, smirking and letting his forehead touch hers as they locked eyes. Bruce thought he could stay like that forever, but that thought didn't last long as Diana laughed and gave him a good hit in the chest and he drew back. "What was that for?!"

"Why?" She said loudly. "Why did you make me go through all that and not tell me right there, right then? Why?!"

Bruce huffed and wrapped his arms around her, as she let her head on his chest. "Because I was afraid, Princess. About you."

"That again?" Diana scolded.

"Always that. You see, you mean, well, quite a lot to me and I'll always be worried about you."

"You say that like you don't trust me in battle."

"There's no one I trust more than you in battle, you know that, but with our enemies, nothing is certain."

"And what changed, then? Why are you telling me now? You had me convinced that…you weren't… interested in me."

Bruce supported his chin on the crown of her head, rubbing her arms. "I couldn't bear to see you sad, as I couldn't bear to see you with someone else too. I was miserable, I'll tell you that, because I thought that I was protecting you from me and from my enemies."

"Protecting me from _you_? That's ridiculous!"

"Don't be so quick to judge, Princess. You haven't lived with me. I honestly hope you'll be able to manage for more than a month."

"I will manage. _This _will last for much more than you think."

"I hope so. I frankly hope so, Diana."

"So? You didn't tell me what changed."

"Well, I thought that I would be more effective in protecting you if I was with you and-"

"I don't need protection."

"Oh, you know what I mean, Diana!"

"Let's just say I do."

"You were the only person to see me for what I am and…like it. And someone convinced me that…I have a right to happiness and I can think of no other way to be happy other than to be with you. I didn't want to live my life in misery and regret anymore. I knew I had to chase you to fix the terrible mistake that I made that night and so I came to Themyscira."

"I'm… I'm glad you came."

"I'm glad I came too. You had said something very important back then. You said that every happy moment we get in this life we're living could very well be our last and, well, you were right."

"Was I?" Diana replied ironically.

Bruce huffed. "I want to fill my remaining time with as many moments like this as possible. Only if you agree to do this with me, of course…"

"I am willing to go everywhere with you, Bruce. No matter how high or how low. And get this in your stubborn head; now that you have gotten yourself into this, there will be no easy way out."

"I want no way out."

"Then it's settled." She said, tangling her fingers with his.

He kissed her hair softly. "Thank you."

She simply sighed blissfully and kissed the back of his hand. Bruce cradled her closely, feeling as if he was never to let her go away. And he wasn't. He wasn't going to throw away the most beautiful thing to have happened to him in a long time. "Plus," he whispered grinning, "Alfred would _kill _me if I came back without you."

Diana smiled and inhaled his scent. She couldn't believe that it was actually happening. She was right; she was special to him, he just was so pig-headed before. She knew that being Batman's 'girlfriend' would never be an easy task but she had agreed with herself to fight for it fiercely. It is what she wanted, after all. She wrapped her arms around his torso, holding him, making sure that nothing would take him away.

"Why aren't you in your Bat costume, by the way?" Diana asked, when she remembered.

"Because this isn't about Batman and Wonder Woman. It is about Bruce and Diana." Diana nodded, rubbing her face on his shirt and mentally noting the date, as it was the first day he had ever been so talkative.

As the last part of the sun was getting lost in the sea and nightfall was ready to claim the sky, she broke free of his embrace and turned to look at him, grinning playfully.

"Wh-" Bruce started asking but before he could finish his question, Diana had easily pushed his back to the ground too and climbed on top of him, reclaiming his lips once again.

***A/N: There you have it! I hope it was okay. I didn't want it to be too fluffy (the talk), as I'd never picture Bruce Wayne saying big and way-too-romantic things from this early point, at least. **

**Hey, the fic is not ever yet! I have another chapter to write for you…**

**Please leave me a small review on how you found it! Thanks for reading so far and sorry for any typos I missed!***


	12. Chapter 12

***A/N.: I hoped you liked the previous chapter. I haven't received as much feedback as on other chapters but I'll suppose you enjoyed it! I'm kind of sad that this WonderBat trip is coming to its end BUT I have some new fic ideas and I really hope to see you all there as well… Thanks for reading and please leave me a small review on how you found it.***

**CHAPTER TWELVE**

The week of Bruce's absence was coming to its end. Alfred hadn't spoken to him but he supposed that since he hadn't returned home, everything must have gone well. Dick assured him that he was alright and he didn't doubt that, but he was hoping that he wouldn't return gloomy and alone again too much to keep still anymore.

A familiar but still out-of-place noise made him step outside quickly. He was surprised to see Wonder Woman's jet getting parked inside the Manor's gardens, for it was a long time since she had last come. He couldn't help but feel impatient to find out the purpose of her visit.

The jet's corridor slid downwards and an unusually carefree Diana walked out of it. She was in some highwaisted denim shorts, a loose white shirt, some leather sandals and vintage shades. She was carrying a luggage bag with her.

"Princess Diana!" Alfred exclaimed, having almost run to her.

"Hello, Alfred!" She said, giving him a hug when he was close enough and kissing both of his cheeks. Alfred was surprised with her cordial gesture, but liked it.

"If I may, how come you're here? Has Master Bruce f-"

"One thing at a time, my friend! I'm so glad to see you again!"

"As am I, Princess. What brings you here? Oh, where is my mind! Allow me to assist you with your luggage!"

"No need to, Alfred. I can manage." Diana said smilingly and easily picked up her bag, which Alfred guessed wasn't too light.

"Very well."

"Let's head inside, then." Diana said, taking a step towards the Manor and Alfred followed by her side, not taking his eyes off his new guest, sincerely hoping that she was to be more than a temporary visitor.

"So? Can you answer my question, please?" Alfred insisted.

Diana half-smiled. "I was invited here."

Alfred had, of course, assumed that much but wasn't getting any clear answers. He remained quiet for some moments, not wanting to appear rude, but he just needed to know. "For how long will we have the pleasure of having you here, Princess?"

"Why don't you ask him?" Diana said, nodding towards the Manor as they were getting closer.

Alfred turned his look to the entrance and he had to keep his jaw from dropping. There, leaning upon the doorframe was Bruce, but Alfred swore he must have had some sort of makeover. He was in a pair of white Bermuda pants, a navy blue polo shirt with small white stripes and some matching blue moccasins, along with some aviator shades. His hair was falling freely around his head and he was half-smiling. Alfred thought he looked tanner than usual as well.

"M-Master Bruce?" Alfred stuttered, freezing in his place momentarily.

"Good to see you again, Alfred." Bruce said casually. "The lady will stay for as much as she likes. And be alert, she might want to redecorate anything while at it…"

"I doubt it." Diana commented smiling, climbing up the stairs. Bruce stretched his hand out to theatrically show her the way inside. She whispered 'thank you' and entered the Manor, with Alfred just some steps behind, still as awestruck as ever. He wondered if his measures had perhaps been a bit too…drastic. He just couldn't grasp it just yet.

"Are we talking days, weeks, months, what, sir?" Alfred asked once he had reached Bruce and they both watched Diana make her way inside the house.

"I'm hoping years." Bruce stated and Alfred smiled.

"I'm glad, sir."

"Thank you, Alfred. Thank you." Bruce said, removing his eyeglasses and patting his butler on the shoulder.

"Never mention it again, sir. I'm just…flabbergasted at this."

"Good. We brought you several souvenirs from the Cyclades and Crete, by the way. They're in my jet; I'll get them up later."

Alfred arched an eyebrow at the mentioning of the islands. He supposed they must have had some memorable vacations during the week. "I appreciate it, Master Bruce. Thank you."

Bruce nodded at him and left, to catch up with Diana in –Alfred guessed- the master bedroom. As the butler watched Bruce go, his mind was starting to make up a new housework plan for the days-weeks-months-hopefully years to come, as they were, apparently, going to make an addition to their household.

OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO—OOO

"Good morning, Alfred!" Diana greeted, entering the kitchen in her nightgown. "How are you?"

"Good morning, Princess. I'm very well, thank you. How was your first night at the Manor?"

"Very nice." Diana replied, opening a cupboard.

"What are you looking for, Princess?"

"Some bread, I suppose and m-"

"Please, sit down and allow me to prepare your breakfast. It is my duty as your butler, now." Alfred said meaningfully.

Diana caught up to his hint and smiled, walking to the table. "Thank you, then."

"No need to thank me for doing my work. What do you usually have for breakfast, my lady?"

"Some coffee, I suppose."

"Oh, no, we can't have you with just some coffee. So, allow me to rephrase. What would you like to have for breakfast?"

"What can I have?"

"I am certain I have everything you'll ask for. I take quite a pride in my kitchen, Princess Diana."

"Splendid. I'd like some bread with some honey and maybe some fruits as well."

"What kinds of fruits?"

"Do you have peaches and cherries?"

"Of course I do. May I also add some berries for you?"

"Why not? Thanks."

Alfred nodded and started preparing her breakfast. He took a clay jar of honey out of a cupboard and started spreading some on the bread. "The honey's Greek, you know." He commented.

"Oh, really?!"

"Yes, it is amazingly tasty."

Diana smiled. This was way better that anything she had ever imagined. Calliope could know rest assured that she had someone to take good care of her. "I know, right?"

Alfred nodded and served her the porcelain plate. "Can I join you, my lady?"

"What kind of question is that? Of course you can!" Diana replied and Alfred took a seat near her. "And it's Diana. You don't need to call me 'my lady'."

"Oh, I will maintain the typical courtesy forms around Master Bruce. I will call you Diana in our private conversations, if you'd like it."

"Yes, I would."

Alfred couldn't help but grin. Something about all this had gotten him excited. Bruce would be happy, Diana was amazing and he was more than happy to be at their service. "Also, _Diana, _do you want this to be your standard breakfast? The one I will be serving you from now on?"

Diana shrugged. "I suppose. If I want something else, I'll tell you."

"Of course. What would you like for lunch today? You will be here for lunch, right?"

"Make it dinner, please. Bruce and I will be heading to the League Base in a couple of hours. We need to get 'back to work'."

"I see. What would you like for dinner, then?"

"Whatever you want, I trust your culinary skills completely. I'm afraid I'm a catastrophe when it comes to cooking!"

Alfred smiled a bit. "Alright. Would you care to tell me about your week off?"

Diana swallowed her bite and nodded. "Of course! Oh, Alfred, it was amazing!" Diana said, and kept on with describing their week.

When Bruce entered the kitchen in his robe, he grinned upon finding them laughing together like old friends. He thought that this could all work out, in the end. He approached Diana and caressed her shoulders.

"Good morning, sir." Alfred said.

"Hello, love." Diana greeted,

OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO

_Some years later…_

"Alfred! Alfred!" Diana shouted, storming into the wide living and dining room. Alfred was nowhere to be found and she was sweating up. She didn't know how to feel. It was something they had been wanting but now that it was actually happening she didn't know if she was ready for it. What if she wasn't?

"Alfred!" She went on. He wasn't in the kitchen either. Where would he be? She flew quickly outside, pushing the doors open. Alfred was wearing a white sunhat and was watering the roses.

"Alfred!" She shouted once again, approaching him. Alfred let the hose down and turned to her worried.

"What is it, Diana? Is something wrong?"

"I don't know, Alfred!" She said, wrapping her hands around him. Alfred patted her back.

"Hush, Princess. Tell me what happened. I'm sure everything is okay."

Diana let go of him and took a deep breath. She looked him in the eyes meaningfully. "Alfred…"

"Don't tell me…" Alfred said, his eyes widening.

"Yes. It's positive." Diana said nodding.

"Diana!" Alfred exclaimed. "Diana, this is amazing!"

"If it is, why am I scared out of my brain?!" Diana couldn't help but cry out.

"Shush." Alfred said, taking Diana's hands. "It is normal to feel that way, Lady Martha felt like that too. There's nothing to worry about, Princess. Honestly. Everything will be alright. Isn't this what we've all wanted?"

"Yes…"

"Then don't be scared, just…enjoy the ride, Diana!"

"I'll try…" Diana said, wiping her forehead. Suddenly, she felt two hands from behind her wrap around her waist.

"Is it true?" Dick said, smiling over her shoulder. "Has it finally happened?"

Diana sighed and turned around. "Yes, Dick. How did you hear us?"

"I eavesdropped behind the hedges." The young man replied, with a silly grin on his face. "I was way too curious, but it paid off! Oh, I'm so excited!"

Diana couldn't help but smile and Dick hugged her again, giggling. "We're going to have _so _much fun!" He let go of her and waved in front of her belly. "Hey, little Wayne baby! This is your big brother Dick! I can't wait to hold you in some months!"

Diana grinned widely. How can she be afraid when there was so much love around the place? Everything was going to be alright, she knew it.

"Please, Diana." Alfred said. "You have to let me tell him. Please, I'm begging of you!"

Diana shared a mischievous look with Dick, imagining how he'd look like when he was told, and they nodded. "Of course, Alfred. You can do it." Diana replied.

"Thank you, thank you!"

With that, the three of them entered the Manor. Alfred almost ran to the Bat Cave, while Diana and Dick went to stand by the couch at the sitting room that served as the Bat Cave's house entrance. Alfred descended the stairs and they started counting the minutes. Not more than two minutes later, a panting Bruce came out of the Bat Cave. Upon seeing them, he almost jumped to them, lifting Diana up to him with one hand and hugging Dick with the other. It must have been the first time the Manor had heard him laugh so loudly in his life.

***Here it goes, lovely people! I honestly hope you enjoyed it from the beginning to the end! I certainly had much fun writing it and I will be coming back to my WonderBat fics, I promise.**

**I will now list this fic as 'complete', but I can write another tiny fluff family chapter for you, if you'd like. You need only tell me.**

**Please, leave me the smallest reviews on how you found it. They mean a lot!***


	13. Chapter 13

***Thank you so much for having supported this fic! It means so horribly much! Since some of you thought it was a good idea, I'm happy to write this little ficlet-chapter on the WonderBat family as an extra. Please, do tell me how you found it. Thanks for reading!***

**BONUS CHAPTER 13**

"This is going to be so awesome!" The little raven-haired boy squealed, sticking his face to the car window.

"Thomas, you're making the window dirty." His father said, shuffling through the pages of a small booklet.

"Fine…" The boy said, pouting a bit. His mother huffed and grabbed him, placing him on her lap.

"You seem rather excited..." Diana said, fixing her son's hair.

"I am! But…when can I play too?" Little Thomas asked, turning to his mother. Sky blue eyes met sky blue eyes and Diana smiled. Her son looked almost identical to her husband, except for the eyes. Those were hers. Alfred had been quite surprised at the striking similarity between father and son; so much, that he was actually brought to tears when Thomas was born –remembering Bruce as a baby- and had been constantly digging up Bruce's infantry photos to place next to Thomas' ones at his album.

"When you're a little older, you will take part too." Diana assured him.

"How much older?"

"When you'll be eight."

Thomas stuck all his fingers up, starting to count. "I am five. I need…another three years to be eight!"

"Yes, Thomas."

"Are three years long, mommy?"

"Not so much, baby."

Thomas nodded and fell on his mother's chest. Diana wrapped her hands around him and turned to the window, watching as buildings went by.

Bruce sighed. "Oh, boy…" He said.

"What's wrong?" Diana asked.

He turned his look to him and half-smiled. "I'm just hoping we're prepared enough for what we're going to see." With that, she handed her the booklet, opened at a certain page. Diana read what the page wrote and grinned.

"Oh, let me read, mommy, let me read!" Thomas asked, clapping his little hands. Bruce looked proudly at his son. Diana spread the booklet open in front of the boy and indicated the passage they were interested in. Thomas squinted his eyes and started reading as clearly as he could. "Twelve PM. To One PM. Rosewood Private School's Sixth Grade will present the theatrical play 'Dragon Slayers', written by the grade's teacher Ms. Popplewell and the students Patricia Blake and Iphigenia Wayne." The boy gasped. "Iphie is writing a play?"

"Read on, psyche mou." (A/N: Translation: my soul, used as my love, mostly by mothers or lovers.)

The boy turned to the leaflet and read to where his mother was pointing now. "Battle scene instructor: Iphigenia Wayne. Costume tailor: Ms. Shirley, with the valuable contribution of Mr. Alfred Pennyworth."

Diana and Bruce looked at each other and smiled. Their daughter had decided not to tell them any details on her plans, wanting it to be a surprise. She had, though, turned to Alfred for help, who could never deny her any. Being her godfather, Alfred was fixed on catering to Iphigenia's every need, making sure, though, not to overdo it. He'd never want his beloved Iphigenia to become a 'spoiled brat' as he had said, but that didn't include him not sewing countless knight costumes over the last few weeks.

The limousine parked in front of the big private school. The driver opened their door and Bruce came out, holding Thomas, followed by Diana in a chic red and white dress.

Thomas shuffled in his father's embrace until he put him down and the boy ran to Alfred, who was standing outside, waiting for them.

"Hello, sir, my lady." The butler said, picking up the boy.

"How is it going, Alfred? Are the preparations complete?" Bruce asked.

"Yes, yes, of course. The play will begin in about an hour. Iphigenia is at the science fair, I suppose you will head there, right?"

"Of course." Diana answered. "Will you show Thomas the school he'll be going to next year?" She said, caressing the boy's head.

"With pleasure. I will see you in the theater room in an hour. We've saved seats for all of you." With that, he turned around and started showing the boy the premises.

Diana took Bruce's elbow and they started walking towards the science fair exhibition. Many desks with the student's projects were placed in the schoolyard, and the exhibition had attracted quite a crowd. Recognizing the project he and his daughter had worked on tirelessly, he led them to a desk some meters away. Its title was 'Echolocation' and the student responsible for it was currently making a demonstration of the echolocation machine she, with her father's help, had built.

Diana and Bruce watched the presentation attentively. Bruce could recite its words, at some points, since he had heard Iphigenia rehearse it again and again. Diana felt happy that it had turned out so nicely. Her daughter had seriously worked for many hours over this project and would accept nothing else but perfection.

Iphigenia, their firstborn, was a child of unusual intelligence and maturity. She had inherited her father's aptness for science and technology, along with a sense of perseverance and ethics from her mother. She was a tall kid, with a sturdy physique, long, wavy, black hair and a set of piercing dark eyes, like her father, again. Most of her facial characteristics resembled Diana, though, maybe with a firmer jawline. She wasn't the most social child, but she could be friendly and gentle.

The demonstration went smoothly and those attending it applauded by the end of it and moved to the next project. The girl turned off her echolocator and ran to her parents, giving them a hug.

"Ta piges ee-perocha, Iphigenia." Diana said and she smiled, hearing her mother say she did amazing.

"Glad this thing worked." Bruce said, teasing her. Iphigenia simply grinned. "Are you ready for your play?"

"I suppose." She shrugged and frowned. "I just hope the others don't mess it up."

"Well, have a little faith on your classmates." Diana insisted.

"I try."

"Want to grab something to eat?"

"No, I'm fine. I think I'll head backstage now. We need to make the final adjustments."

"Go, go." Both of her parents said.

"I'll see you, guys, inside. I've saved you seats!" With that, she turned around and ran inside.

"Let's go buy some candy." Diana said and they started walking towards the candy stand. Bruce paid for two bags of chocolate and sugar candy, handing one to his wife, leading them on for a slow walk around the school's yard.

"I remember the last time we had candy like this…" Diana said, looking at Bruce playfully.

"I don't want to remember." Bruce replied, half-smiling. Diana huffed and munched on a bar.

"Hera, how I'd like some berries and some cola now…"

Bruce arched an eyebrow at that statement. Diana was normally a reasonable person considering her appetite and food urges, expect for when she was…pregnant. God knew how many times Bruce had to wake up Alfred to fetch the pregnant Diana some pistachio ice-cream or a bean salad in the middle of the night, especially when she was going through her ninth month and getting up wasn't easy.

"Diana, you...aren't…"

"No, my love, I'm not expecting, fear not. I just saw the color of this candy and it reminded me of berries. That's all."

Bruce almost sighed in relief. It wasn't that he didn't love his family as it was, he just thought it'd be impossible to find time for another child if they wanted to continue being two of Earth's most important superheroes. They already had to organize a strict timetable to make it all work out and he doubted they could fit the needs of a third Wayne baby in there. They both got the minimum amount of sleep already in order to keep up with the League and the time they had left to themselves was scarce as well. Yet he didn't complain, because he very much enjoyed spending time with his children and seeing his family progress. Diana turned out to be an amazing mother and an even more amazing wife. He wished they had more time to go out together more, but he couldn't complain. Having her all to himself even for just an hour every night was fine.

Alfred was a blessing, too. He had helped raise the children like they were his own. They didn't need to hire a babysitter, of course, for when they couldn't be there, and Alfred enjoyed taking care of them to no extent. He taught them many things and the children loved him dearly. They had decided to make him Iphigenia's godfather with no second thoughts and he had almost cried in joy when they announced it. Truth was, though, they could think of no other person for the 'job'.

"Let's sit here." Bruce said, pointing to a wooden bench underneath the shade of a tall tree. After sitting down, he passed his arm over Diana's shoulder and smiled. They didn't speak after that, as there was nothing to say and none of them felt the needed to say anything. Being there with each other was enough.

"Aren't you two like highschool sweethearts…" A bulky man said, approaching them.

"And I was wondering when you'd come." Bruce replied as the newcomer sat down.

"How'd you find us, Clark?" Diana asked.

Clark pushed his glasses over the bridge of his nose. "I followed the sounds of the lovebirds." Diana huffed and Bruce rolled his eyes.

"How are you?" The Amazonian Princess asked.

"I'm alright. Lois apologizes for not being able to come, but, you know, things at the paper can get pretty hectic."

"Yes, yes. It's okay."

"But I couldn't miss an opportunity to see my godson! Where's the little devil?"

"Touring around with Alfred." Bruce replied, caressing Diana's shoulder.

"I should go steal him from that satanic butler." Clark pondered, half-smiling. "I just don't know how he makes himself everyone's favorite…"

"Oh, you know Thomas loves you just as much." Diana said. "He says he wants to be tall and strong like you when he grows up."

Clark smiled but Bruce took that smile away from him. "I tell him to be witty and resourceful like Lois." Clark rolled his eyes and turned his gaze to his watch.

"Think we should head inside now? The play will commence shortly."

The three of them left the bench and went for the theater. It was located inside the school building, but had soundproof walls. The wooden stage was at the front and had many rows of seats. They spotted Alfred sitting with Thomas at the second row and started walking towards him, when a ginger-haired lady approached them.

"Hello, Ms Popplewell!" Diana greeted.

"Mr. Wayne, Ms Prince, we're very happy to have you here!" The cheerful lady said.

"We wouldn't miss it." Bruce said, nodding.

"I sincerely hope you enjoy it. It is something…unique. I was glad the girls had such creative ideas for the play!"

"We're very much interested to see what you have pulled together." Diana said, smiling.

"I just wanted to let you know that since a play named 'Dragon Slayers' cannot be without some action scenes, what is going to happen on the stage is with the full consent of our Principal, who was very much interested in the play as well." Bruce and Diana both arched an eyebrow and nodded. "So! I will see you afterwards! Enjoy!"

"This is starting off nicely…" Bruce mumbled and Diana laughed.

They finally reached Alfred and joined him. Thomas stretched his arms to Clark when they approached and the Kryptonian took the boy in his arms and sat down.

"Liked the school, Thomas?" He asked and the boy nodded enthusiastically.

"It has a huge playground!" Clark messed with his hair and grinned.

"What are we going to watch?" Bruce asked, turning to Alfred.

"Something quite interesting, sir." The butler asked, stroking his moustache.

"Iphigenia is the battle scene instructor…"

"She was perfect for the part, I think. Wait and see, Master Bruce." Alfred simply said, smiling a bit.

The lights in the room went off and only the stage was lighted by three large light projectors. The heavy red curtains were drawn away, revealing a background of what appeared to be a forest. Patricia Blake's voice echoed around; with a quick look at the leaflet, Diana saw that her daughter's best friend was co-directing it with the teacher and narrating the story.

"_In a land far, far away…"_ The girl began, as light music played along_, "the Seven Kingdoms lived peacefully, until one day… the dragon tribe attacked."_ A mechanical dragon head popped from the right, as supposed dragon screeches came from the speakers. The machine was very well built and shaped into a furious dragon. Its head was withdrawn. _"The Kings and the Queens were beginning to lose hope, as the dragons, powerful creatures of very high intelligence, took everything they wanted from them; jewels, people, food, rampaging villages and threatening the royalty. However, not all hope was lost, as the world had the famous Dragon Slayers to protect them!"_ A dozen of children entered the center stage, dressed in knight costumes and shiny helmets and yelling. Bruce turned to Alfred, who watched the little knights in pride; he guessed the costumes were of his doing_. "People everywhere loved the Dragon Slayers and called them when they needed help, as their brave leader could battle every dragon out there!"_ The children turned and clapped for a tall knight, waving their wooden swords around. _"But one day…"_ The dozen of kids left the stage. _"…the great dragon tribe attacked the Cendurian Kingdom. The King"-_ a skinny boy with long blond hair, wearing a long red cape walked onto the stage, with a girl in a pink fluffy dress by his side_-"and the Queen tried to negotiate with the alpha dragon, but all he ever did was taunt them. He told them that to stop his kin from ruining the land, they must pay them a certain amount in gems and give them something much more precious as a ransom, their only son."_

Bruce lightly nudged Diana. "Isn't that Dinah's and Oliver's son?"

"Yes, Bruce! You've met the boy dozens of times!"

"I can't recognize every single boy I meet. I've more important things to remember." Diana rolled her eyes and returned to the play.

"_Desperate to get their son and their freedom back, the King summoned the Dragon Slayers to their land."_ The 'knights' re-entered the stage and the 'King' spoke.

"Oh, mighty Dragon Slayers! You need to help us!"

"What is the situation?" A boy asked, removing his helmet.

"The dragons have been taking our gems and money, and have kidnapped our son!"

"Why have they kidnapped your son?" Another boy said, taking his helmet off too.

"So that we won't stop paying them!" The 'Queen' said, pleading. "If we stop, not only will they ruin our lands, but they will kill him too!" The knights pretended to gasp.

"I'm begging of you!" The King said. "Save our son and our Kingdom, and we will give you anything! Anything!"

Eleven 'knights' turned to the twelfth, who had crossed arms.

"What will we do, Leader?" The first boy-knight said.

The 'Leader' advanced several steps and in one swift but graceful motion, took the helmet off and thick locks of black hair jumped around.

"I knew it!" Diana said grinning and turning to Bruce.

Bruce's eyes widened when he saw his daughter portraying the Leader of the Knights. "Oh…"

"Don't tell me you hadn't recognized your own daughter!" Diana scolded, whispering.

"I had a vague idea." Bruce simply stated, focusing on the play again. Diana sighed and let him be.

Iphigenia held her helmet between her arm and her sides, appearing very noble. The 'King' gasped at her sight. "Oh, my!" He said. "Valliant Leader! Please do something!"

Iphigenia spoke stoically. "We will help you and your Kingdom, King Richard."

"We will be forever in your debt." The Queen said.

"All we require," Iphigenia went on, "is accommodation and food for the year. Can you cover our needs?"

"Oh, of course, brave Dragon Slayers!" The King declared. "You shall be given a castle and more food than you can eat!"

"Save him, please," the Queen said, "and you will marry our son, Leader!"

"What?!" Iphigenia said and all of the knights frowned. "I can't marry someone I don't know."

"There goes another fairytale cliché busted…" Clark whispered to Alfred and he agreed.

"But, but…" The Queen on the stage mumbled. "He is noble, and so handsome! With auburn hair, and gr-"

"It doesn't matter, your Majesty. I'm not interested in matrimony." The 'Leader' replied and the rest of the knights nodded in agreement. "Now, where are the dragons?"

"At the mountains up north. That's where they reside when they're not here, claiming our wealth." The King answered.

"Will we need to cross the Ioran forest to get there?" A girl-knight asked.

"Yes, I'm afraid."

"Is it dangerous, Helen?" Iphigenia asked.

"Yes. It's filled with monsters and thieves, but nothing us, the Dragon Slayers can't fight."

"Then off we go!" The first boy-knight said. "We'll come back with the dragon's head!"

With that, they all emptied the stage. The scenes that followed involved the knights dealing with witches and monsters, until they finally reached 'the mountains up north'.

"Come forward, vicious dragons!" Some of the knights yelled. From the right entrance, the mechanical dragon head popped out, along with several couples of students under costumes of two, to make up some smaller dragons.

"Who dares disturb me?" A masculine voice sounded from the speakers, as the mechanical dragon's jaws moved.

"We are the Dragon Slayers," a knight said, "and we're here to defeat you!"

"No mere human can defeat me!"

"We are no mere humans! We will rescue the Prince and the Kingdom!" Iphigenia shouted bravely. "Knights! Prepare to fight!"

"This must be the battle scene." Bruce told Diana.

"I suppose so. Let's see, now…" Diana replied, intrigued.

The smaller 'dragons' headed for the knights. All of the paired enemies performed synchronized moves of kicks and punches and sword swings and Diana was not too surprised to experience that strange sense of déjà-vu, as a too-similar routine she had practiced growing up in Themyscira and has proceeded with spending countless days practicing it with Cassie and Donna. She grinned a bit, as she watched the students 'fight' and thought that they weren't too bad in the routine indeed.

Iphigenia marched towards the mechanical dragon-chief and pointed her wooden sword at him. "Leave the Kingdom at once!"

"And who are you to order me?"

"The Leader of the Dragon Slayers and the Protector of the Kingdom!"

"I will kill you and get this joke over with…" The dragon said and its jaws opened wide. With a loud sound from the speakers, smoke and orange fibers were launched from its mouth, portraying flames. Iphigenia was quick in dodging them and sliding underneath its jawline. She gave the bottom jaw a hit with her sword and a high kick, rendering it useless. The mechanical head started moving from left to right 'frantically'. Iphigenia dodged it for some moments and then found the perfect second to jump and climb up, onto the dragon, riding it.

"Although it is a school play, sir," Alfred whispered to Bruce, "I can't help but feel a little worried about Iphigenia's wellbeing…"

"Don't worry, it's a play. They have probably rehearsed this countless of times. Iphigenia knows what she's doing." Bruce reassured Alfred, but not being able to cast what the grade's teacher had told them away.

Iphigenia went on with hitting the metallic frame of the dragon with her sword, holding on tightly with her legs. She then kicked its sides strongly and the frames seemed to break a bit. As the 'beast' began to move more slowly –it was planned, they guessed, for it to slow down, but it was broken from the kicks as well- Iphigenia stood up and turned around, not facing the head's direction anymore. She jumped high and landed on the head again, kicking it with both of her legs and hitting it with her sword. The dragon appeared now with a bent neck. Iphigenia gave it another swing and the whole structure fell down with a loud thud. The knights applauded over the 'dragon corpses', swinging their 'weapons' around. The audience applauded as well.

"Still think it was a good idea to let her spend the summer in Themyscira?" Bruce said.

Diana laughed. "I can't see any harm in a girl knowing how to put a dragon down…" Bruce rolled his eyes.

The play came to its end, as they rescued the Prince and were named heroes at the Kingdom. All of the children that helped with the play took a bow, as the audience cheered for them again. They went outside and were soon joined by Iphigenia.

"Congratulations, Iphie!" Clark said, shaking the girl's hand.

"You hadn't told me about the bullfight, Iphigenia." Alfred told her.

"I wanted it to be a surprised for all of you! Why, wasn't it good?" She replied.

"It was wooooow!" Thomas said, clapping his hands, still in Clark's arms.

"Hippolyta taught you well, I figure?" Bruce asked.

Iphigenia giggled. "Grandma and the Amazons were brilliant."

"Ekanes poli kali doulia, Iphigenia." Diana said, hugging her daughter, after praising her for doing a very good job.

"Is there anything else on the schedule?" Clark asked, but a voice from the speakers answered his question before anyone else could.

"_Our students' fair is slowly coming to its end! We hope you enjoyed everything and we would now like to invite all of the parents to join us in some activities for fun! The activities include hundred and four hundred meter sprints, archery and riddle-solving! Any parents willing to participate are kindly requested to register themselves at the secretary."_

Bruce turned to Diana and looked at her slyly. She gave him a playful grin.

"Want to give it a go?" Diana asked and Bruce nodded.

In twenty minutes, they were standing behind the starting line of the hundred meter sprint, in athletic T-shirts and sneakers.

"No cheating, Ms. Wonder Woman." Bruce said, rubbing his neck and warming up.

"I don't need to cheat to beat you." Diana declared, stretching her shoulders.

"Positions!" The race regulator said and they took their starting stance.

"May the best parent win." Bruce said, winking. Alfred, Clark and their children cheered from the bleachers.

A shot later, they started running as if their life depended on it, none of them willing to accept defeat.

***Here it is, then! A day of family fun! I hope you liked it and I hope I gave you enough…hints on their ever after. Please tell me how you found it.**

**I'd also like to inform you that I will be writing a new story, based on this one, with small everyday moments, or important days like their wedding, or the day the League found out, a Christmas Eve etcetera. I hope to see you all there! Take care!***


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